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Manchester United and Liverpool icon Paul Ince said Chelsea cult hero was the hardest opponent he ever faced

Giuseppe Labellarte

Tue 18 March 2025 22:45, UK Updated Thu 20 March 2025 16:09, UK

Paul Ince enjoyed a superb career at the top of the game, starring for the likes of Manchester United, Liverpool and Inter Milan, as well as England.

Ince, nicknamed ‘the Guv’nor’, was one of the hardest footballers around during🏅 an era of the game when tough-tackling, physical players were the no𝕴rm.

Ince faced the likes of Manchester United legend Roy Keane, Arsenal power🍃house Patrick Vieira and Everton titan Duncan Ferguson o𓆉ver the course of his near 20-year career.

However, one opponent stood out in particular for Ince, as he admitted 🍸a game against said player left him feeling like he’d been up agains🉐t a “juggernaut”.

READ MORE: Troy💙 Deeney names the ‘world-class’ Liverpool icon he feels was much 𒀰better than Mohamed Salah

Paul Ince names Chelsea icon Marcel Desailly as his toughest opponent

Ince named Chel💦sea cult hero Marcel Desailly as his most fearsome opponent, though the encounter came when the two were playing in Italy’s Serie A.

The Three Lions icon, playing for Inter at the time, came up against De🎉sailly when the Frenchman was plying his trade for bitter city rivals𓃲 AC Milan.

Ince landed the first blow during Inter’s showdown with Milan. but he admitted Desailly’s 🔯response left him stunned.

When asked on who the hardest opponent he’s faced, Ince responded: “I’♒ve had a few. Keane, Steven Gerrard, Vieira but I’d probably say Desailly. He was tough.

“When he was at A൩C Milan. Before the Milan derby we had to do a big photoshoot, me and Desailly with our mouths open roaring for a big billboard in Milan.

“We had to go to this warehouse but he refused to go because he was at AC and I was at Inter. I don’t know whether he didn’t like me or somet෴hing but we didn’t go.

“Quarter to eight kick-off, first tackle – I absolutely mel♒ted him. Melted him. I put him on his a— and shout, ‘get up,💧 get up!’ He then looked at me.

“About te🌃n minutes later he just cracked me. I thought, ‘wow’. I tho💮ught I’d been hit by a juggernaut.

“It was the toughest game I’ve had. We were always going into each other, head-to-head. It was tough🌃, tough man.”

Ince left Inter in 1997 to join Liverpool, while Desailly joined Chelsea in 199𒈔8 shortly after helping France win their first 🃏ever World Cup.

The hardest Premier League players of all time

Back in 2021, BBC Sport pundits Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah 𝔉Richards ranked their top 10 Premier League hard men on the Match of the Day T꧋op 10 .

Chelsea cult hero Diego Costa took 10th place, with West Ham icon Julian Dicks in ninth. David Batty took eighth, while Nottingham Forest legend Stuart Pearce was inꦚ seventh.

Next up was Arsenal icon Patrick Viei💜ra, followed by Manchester United powerhouse Jaap Stam in fifth.

Wimbledon titan Vinnie Jones came in fourth, followed by Red Devils legends Roy Keane and Nemanja V𒐪idic.

Everton giant Duncan Ferguson came top of the li𝔉st, with both Shearer and Richards deeming him the hardest player of the Premier League era.