John Terry, Rio Ferdinand Get Personal in Fierce Twitter Debate on Who Was the Better Defender

• England legends Rio Ferdinand and John Terry locked horns on Twitter recently, and the argument got very personal
• It all sparked off when Ferdinand named himself as the number one in the rankings of the Premier League’s best ever defenders
• But Terry hit back, saying his stats were far better, and what ensued was a nasty back and forth between the two

Rio Ferdinand and Chelsea legend John Terry recently lit up Twitter as the pair engaged in a heated war of words over the greatest centre backs in the Premier League era.

The two former England defenders went head-to-head online after Ferdinand boldly named himself as the greatest centre back in Premier League history, sparking a huge debate online.

While speaking to Liverpool centre back Virgil Van Dijk in the Between the Lines show, Ferdinand boldly declared:

"I believe I was number one. Serious. I'm going number one straight away."

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He also spoke about John Terry, who has also been in the conversation of the best centre backs to grace the Premier League.

"In terms of his longevity at that club, what they won, body on the line, a much better footballer than people give him credit for, could play off his left and right foot."

But Terry did not appreciate Ferdinand’s comments, and he took to his social media with a subliminal message suggesting his stats spoke for themselves.

"Opinions are great but stats don't lie..." Terry wrote on social media along with a collage of infographics bearing his stats.

What ensued was a back and forth between the two former defenders, with Ferdinand somehow hitting below the belt by suggesting Terry was lucky to be selected at times, especially following the racism incident with his younger brother Anton Ferdinand.

"The moment one has to start pushing their own records and stats it’s really time to start addressing the fragile ego.” Ferdinand tweeted.

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"You're lucky I even put you in the top 5 after the racism case with my brother so be thankful you made it."

Terry then hit back, claiming that Ferdinand had a fragile ego.

“A fragile Ego is putting yourself at Number 1. Thanks for putting me in your top 5." Terry said.

In terms of his top five best defenders, Ferdinand named himself alongside Nemanja Vidic, Van Dijk and Jaap Stam.

Ronaldinho praises Van Dijk ahead of UCL final

As far as defenders are concerned, legendary Brazilian footballer, Ronaldinho believes Van Dijk is above everyone at the moment.

The Dutch defender has been a colossus in the Liverpool defence playing a pivotal role in the Premier League and the Champions League.

According to Ronaldinho, who is in Paris for the Champions League final, Van Dijk is the best defender in world football at the moment.