Steven Gerrard vs Frank Lampard vs Paul Scholes is a debate that will continue to rage on for years to come.

The Englishmen were all part of the country's fabled 'Golden Generation' and enjoyed stellar careers at the very highest level with Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United.

What makes the debate even more interesting is the fact that all three central midfielders operated in different manners during their careers.

Gerrard was a box-to-box machine, Lampard often played just behind a striker and Scholes was tasked with controlling games from a deeper role.

Their differing on-pitch positions as players makes comparing the trio quite difficult, but a detailed Twitter thread has done the dirty work for us and the results are very interesting indeed.

Let's take a look at the key points from the thread...

Attacking numbers

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As expected, Lampard reigns supreme in the attacking department. The current Chelsea manager scored 210 goals in 648 appearances for the Blues as a player, a phenomenal record.

Gerrard takes top spot in terms of international goal contributions per game, though and he isn't far behind Lampard overall.

Passing numbers

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In terms of overall involvement with teammates on the pitch, Gerrard leads the way. Scholes' passing is the best of the three, but the United legend's creativity numbers (through balls and crosses) are significantly lower than those possessed by his two rivals.

Defensive numbers

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Gerrard the dominant force defensively? You better believe it! He really could do it all in a Liverpool shirt and his ability to excel at both ends of the pitch was pivotal to the Reds' success as a team.

Once again, Scholes has to settle for a bronze medal...

Record in cup finals

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It really isn't looking good for Scholes, is it? Gerrard on the other hand...

Although, we need to point out that Scholes won the Premier League on 11 occasions, which is 11 more times than the Liverpool icon.

Individual honours + Ballon d'Or nominations & votes

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It's that man Gerrard again, the former Liverpool man earning 26 individual honours during his playing career, 20 more than Scholes.

Amazingly, the United man also never received a single vote for the Ballon d'Or. Gerrard and Lampard earned a whopping 389 between them.

Is the above data enough to label Gerrard as the winner and Lampard runner-up? It may well be.

Perhaps there was a reason why England used to deploy Scholes on the wing to allow his two midfield rivals to occupy the central midfield positions...