England stars get Ronaldinho praise
29/11/2005 - 07:58:45European Footballer of the Year Ronaldinho praised England midfielders Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard as “players with a lot of quality”.
The Chelsea man finished second in the vote for the Ballon D’Or prize awarded to the top player on the Continent behind the Brazilian magician, with Gerrard - who led Liverpool to Champions League glory – in third.
Ronaldinho told the Daily Telegraph: “Lampard and Gerrard are great players, they deserve to be rewarded in this way and it is a pleasure for me to see them play in the Premiership.
“It is great to see such talented footballers at such a young age.”
Ronaldinho won 225 points in the vote, with Lampard second on 148 and Gerrard six votes behind his England team-mate.
