Steven Gerrard vs Lilian Thuram: Stats Compared
Central Midfielder, England (born 1980, retired 2016) · Centre-Back / Right-Back, France (born 1972, retired 2008)
Set Steven Gerrard alongside Lilian Thuram and the numbers start an argument of their own. Comparing across positions is never straightforward, and these two asked different questions of opponents. The raw numbers read 212 goals in 860 outings for Steven Gerrard (0.25/game), versus 14 in 681 for Lilian Thuram (0.02/game). Assists were not reliably tracked for much of their careers, which makes the playmaking comparison an imperfect one; where records exist, Steven Gerrard is credited with 155 and Lilian Thuram with 0. Trophy counts give Steven Gerrard 8 and Lilian Thuram 8, with 1× UEFA Champions League (2005) and 1× FIFA World Cup (1998) the standout honours respectively. The central midfielder duties of Steven Gerrard leaned creative; the centre-back / right-back responsibilities of Lilian Thuram leaned commanding. Context beyond the headline totals is important: Steven Gerrard's landmark level arrived around 2005 with a career spanning Liverpool, LA Galaxy; Lilian Thuram's came around 1998 across Monaco, Parma, Juventus, Barcelona. Few pairings invite such entrenched disagreement, and fewer still deserve it this much.
171 words · comparison angle: role
Player profiles
Liverpool captain who led the famous 2005 Champions League comeback in Istanbul; one-club man for most of his Premier League career.
“A dynamic box-to-box midfielder with a hammer of a right foot and a habit of dragging Liverpool back into games.”
French defender who played a record 142 times for France; scorer of two goals in the 1998 World Cup semifinal.
“A robust, intelligent defender equally adept at right-back and centre-back, with surprising scoring instincts in big games.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 1× UEFA Champions League (2005)
- 1× UEFA Cup (2001)
- 2× FA Cup (2001, 2006)
- 3× EFL Cup (2001, 2003, 2012)
- 1× UEFA Super Cup (2001)
- 1× FIFA World Cup (1998)
- 1× UEFA European Championship (2000)
- 1× FIFA Confederations Cup (2003)
- 1× UEFA Cup (1999)
- 2× Serie A (2002, 2003)
- 2× Supercoppa Italiana (2002, 2003)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1998 Liverpool debut
- 2001 Won the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup treble
- 2003 Replaced Sami Hyypiä as Liverpool captain
- 2005 Lifted the Champions League in Istanbul
- 2006 Player of the match in the FA Cup final
- 2012 Captained Great Britain at the Olympics
- 2015 Left Liverpool for LA Galaxy
- 1991 Monaco debut
- 1996 Joined Parma
- 1998 World Cup winner, scored twice in the semi-final against Croatia
- 2000 Euro winner with France
- 2001 Joined Juventus for a world-record defender fee
- 2006 Signed for Barcelona
- 2008 Retired after Euro 2008
The verdict
If forced to pick, Steven Gerrard is the choice: a clear margin, with a sharper goalscoring record the deciding factor.
Steven Gerrard edges it (a clear margin)
