Reina - Gerrard is world's best

14 May 2009 10:13
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina has labelled award-winning captain Steven Gerrard as the best player in the world. The England star was named the Footballer Writers' Association (FWA) Player of the Year earlier in the week after another impressive season for the Reds. And Reina believes Gerrard fully deserves the accolade and has hailed his team-mate as the leading footballer on the planet. The Spaniard told the Liverpool Daily Post: "I am happy with Stevie winning the award. It's fully deserved - and not just in terms of England, but for the whole world. Superb "This season he has been superb - our best player, the best player in England and the best player in the world. "Liverpool are a different team without him. We have to play and compete as a whole squad but he is key for us." Defender Martin Skrtel has also praised Gerrard and believes that the 28-year-old, who has been hampered with a groin injury throughout the season, can improve. "I think they (FWA) got it absolutely right because this season has been very good for him," the Slovakian told Liverpool's official website. "I am happy for him. Big player "He's scored a lot of goals. To have 23 goals is a big thing for a midfielder - he is not a striker. It's very good. "Stevie is a big player with big quality and, for me, he has absolutely been the best this year. "We'll see if he gets even better. This season has been good for him but when you think about it he's had a lot of injuries and has missed games. "Next year hopefully he'll be without injuries and can get even more goals."

Source: SKY_Sports