Highlights

• Micah Richards and Alan Shearer both had the same players in their top three but in different orders.
• Shearer described his top pick, Tony Adams, as the best defender he played against during his career.
• John Terry got the nod from Richards, who praised the Chelsea legend's goal-scoring prowess.

Football fans love a debate over the best players from eras gone by, and a discussion around the best centre-backs in Premier League history is one that has the potential to take up hours of people's time at pubs up and down the UK.

The usual candidates like John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Vincent Kompany and Virgil van Dijk are always mentioned in such discussions, and all four players feature in lists of the top 10 centre-backs in Premier League history chosen by title-winning duo Alan Shearer and Micah Richards in an episode of the Match of the Day Top 10 podcast.

Alan Shearer's Top 10

Adams first, Terry second

Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho ranks 10th in Alan Shearer's list of the best Premier League centre-backs of all time. Carvalho spent six seasons at Chelsea between 2004 and 2010, winning three Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and two League Cups.

Shearer said: "He was only quite small but he could put a crunching tackle in, he had a nasty side to him. There are a lot of these players that you think of and then think of their partner, he was obviously partnered with John Terry which was a great partnership."

A Manchester United pair took the eighth and ninth spots in Shearer's rankings, with Jaap Stam ranking one place higher than Gary Pallister. Former Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly came in at seventh on Shearer's list. The 1998 World Cup winner won European Cups with Marseille and AC Milan early on in his career before he joined Chelsea in 1998, staying at the club for six seasons and helping them to win the FA Cup in 2000. Shearer said of Desailly:

"In terms of what you need as a defender - quick, good in the air, agile, could tackle - he was a brilliant player,. Him and Leboeuf were the partnership at Chelsea and he asked me once why I would never go and stand on him and I said 'well why would I come and stand on you when I can stand on Frank?'. But I reminded him of that when I turned him at St James' Park and launched one in from 30 yards out."

Nemanja Vidic comes in at sixth for Shearer, with Manchester City stalwart Vincent Kompany in fifth. "He was a winner," Shearer said. "He came in when it (the situation at City) wasn't so good and saw it all through, the managers stuck with him and realised what he had and what he brought to the club - that tells you everything you need to know about him."

Virgil van Dijk has won the lot since joining Liverpool from Southampton in 2018, hoisting the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two League Cups, and he ranks fourth in Shearer's list. "He's a game changer for Liverpool - he took them to where they wanted to go," the former England striker said.

Shearer's top three was composed entirely of England defenders, with Rio Ferdinand in third, John Terry in second, and Tony Adams taking top spot. Shearer described Ferdinand as a "Rolls Royce of a centre-half", while saying Terry could easily adapt to the demands of the modern. Of Arsenal great Adams, Shearer said:

"I would come off with cut eyes, a broken nose and cut lip after a game against him, but always shake hands... He was an unbelievable leader, organiser, tackler, he could play as well, he was tough. The best centre-half I've ever played against."

Micah Richards' Top 10

Terry first, Ferdinand second

Micah Richards has Desailly three places lower than Shearer, with the Frenchman ranked 10th, and there's another ex-Chelsea player in ninth. Richards said of Ricardo Carvalho:

"We have these perceptions of what these players should look like, someone like Rio Ferdinand, who is so elegant on the eye, whereas Carvalho wasn't. But he won three Premier League titles at Chelsea so he's a top player. Sometimes our eyes can play tricks on us - he really was a fantastic footballer."

Richards had United trio Gary Pallister, Jaap Stam and Nemanja Vidic in eighth, seventh and sixth respectively, with Richards saying of Stam: "Amazing numbers in terms of titles and appearances, but he's not someone I would look up to and think I want to play like him."

Richards was equally unenthusiastic about Vidic's game, saying: "He was a top player but Fernando Torres always used to have him on toast. I just believe that some of the players I've put above him had a bit more in terms of both aspects to their games."

Virgil van Dijk was ranked fifth, with Richard's former Manchester City teammate Vincent Kompany in fourth. Richards said: "Sir Vincent Kompany - we [Manchester City] played at Hamburg in pre-season and he played as a number 10. He was doing tricks, stepovers and had great feet - we signed him. One of his first games he was ridiculously good in midfield, spraying passes about. In the games after it was just 'good' - he could do a good job in there but there was a game against Arsenal when his touch was awful and after that he went to centre-back and when he did that I thought 'wow' - he was the best defender I've ever seen.

"He's a real leader. He can be selfish at times, he is a perfectionist and if you don't do things at his level he takes things to heart. When he first came to the club under Hughes we were a shambles. Kompany was a major part of taking the club to the next level when the new owners came in. He can be a bit serious at times, but he was doing it because he wanted to be the best."

Richards had Rio Ferdinand one place higher than Shearer, ranking him second, with John Terry taking top spot. Richards praised Ferdinand for his quality on the ball, but said Terry's goalscoring record was the decisive factor when choosing between the pair at the top of the rankings. Richards added:

"His (Terry's) record is ridiculous - 41 goals - that's what just tipped it over the edge for me. I couldn't pick between him and Rio. If I was watching a game I would go towards Rio, because he looked more elegant, but the goals tipped it for me."