🎤 Ledley King

Interview July 2025

In this exclusive interview with OLBG, Tottenham legend Ledley King discusses his proudest Spurs moments, coaching under Mourinho, his thoughts on Gareth Bale and Harry Kane, the Gerrard-Scholes-Lampard debate, and much more.

Q: What do you consider as a standout memory in a Spurs shirt?

It would have to be winning a trophy. I think that's probably grown over the years. Obviously, it's been such a long time since we achieved that. I think over the years I've started to realise how difficult it is to actually win a trophy.

We've had some great players over the years. Look at players like Hugo Lloris who won the World Cup, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Harry Kane.

Some great Spurs players in a great team that didn't achieve that. Looking back, probably winning a trophy for the club. Of course your debut is always special, but to be part of a team, a collective that goes on to do something special is the best.

Q: What was it like to lace your boots up in the legends game?

In a different stadium. It was strange. I think I've played football twice in the 13 years since I've retired. So there were a few nerves, just mainly because I knew there were going to be some young kids who were watching, whose dads had probably told them that I was a good player back then and I'm not moving too well these days, so I had to prepare for it a little bit.

It was great to be amongst old teammates back in the changing room, that banter. But I wanted to go on the pitch and not embarrass myself. I promised myself half an hour was my max. I didn't want to get any injuries.

It was a great occasion, as I say. To be back amongst old teammates was a special feeling and of course, to play in the stadium for the first time for me was brilliant.

Q: What was it like to see the team end their trophy drought?

It was emotional actually, there were a few tears which I didn't expect. I think we've been to seven finals over the last 20 years or so, to get over the line was special.

It's been such a difficult season during the Premier League. But the team managed to keep their focus right to the very end. They had their eye on the target of winning the Europa League, so fair play to the manager and the players for that.

It was an emotional night and then we had the parade a couple of days later and the turnout was amazing. I'm just pleased for the fans who have waited so long. They deserve that and hopefully the team can kick on now.

The players have got that feeling of winning something, achieving something special, and they'll be determined to repeat that.

Q: Were you surprised to learn that Roy Keane was once a Spurs fan?

Yeah, it is a surprise. Another one that surprised me was Graham Souness, who actually played for Spurs. I think he was in the youth team there at Spurs.

Roy Keane: Editorial credit: Influential Photography / Shutterstock.com

They both had a good feeling about the football club, so to speak. But yeah, it does surprise me, now, especially when you listen to Roy Keane.

He was some player and it would’ve been great if we could have had him at our football club, especially from Nottingham Forest maybe, when Man United got him from.

If we'd have had the opportunity, what a dream that would have been.

Q: Would you consider inviting Roy Keane down for a game?

I think once you're a player, a fan kind of goes away. You're only concerned about your own journey, your own team that you're playing in. I think he probably was a fan growing up, but I don't think he's too concerned anymore.

Q: Did you consider going into coaching or management after retiring?

Not really, not immediately, I would say. I did have a dabble, I was doing a couple of days a week with the under 18s and just kind of getting my feet wet, just getting a feel for it.

I was working with Kieran McKenna, actually. So I taught him everything he knew and then I passed it on to him (laughs). But no, it was brilliant to work alongside him.

I could see that he was going to have a bright future. But I would say you've got to love coaching. You've got to be so passionate about it and so dedicated to it, if you're not, then there's no point in getting involved in it.

So for me, I've kind of enjoyed popping in and out. Obviously I had a spell with Jose Mourinho and the way that came about was I just bumped into him in the corridors at Tottenham and he asked me what I was doing.

Jose Mourinho

I explained to him I'm an ambassador and he said he wanted me on the training pitch. I said I'm not a coach and he said it doesn't matter, he wanted me on the training pitch.

You can't turn Jose down. So initially I just started going in, watching a bit of training and eventually speaking to some players and eventually kind of watching video, breaking it down with them. This was just before Covid happened so the season stopped.

They had a break and then when they resumed and finished off the season, I kind of stayed away and they finished the season in the summer.

I got a call from Jose saying he wants me to be part of his staff full-time for next season so I couldn't turn that down and yeah, I loved it. It was enjoyable.

It took me back to my playing days and how it takes over your life. It really is a tough, tough, long season. The strange thing was that we started off the season unbelievably.

We were playing in front of no fans, which was a shame. But I remember beating Arsenal 2-0 at home, Man City 2-0 at home, we went to Old Trafford and won 6-1.

I thought we were going to win the league in December. I was actually starting to believe that we were going to win the league, but unfortunately it kind of fell away and didn't happen.

But I enjoyed learning from Jose. I always just said to myself, if I ever go back into management or coaching, I've learned from one of the best. So I've got a good grounding to kind of fall back on and some great experiences to take me forward.

So yeah, I did enjoy it. But again, you have to be so dedicated to it and I enjoy my role as an ambassador and that gives me a bit more flexibility at this moment. So I never say never, but at the moment I'm enjoying that.

Q: As a defender, would a Ledley King team be a defensive one?

I think naturally a defender is always going to care about the defensive side of the game. But at the same time, the type of player I was, I always tried to play out from the back, similar to the way the game is being played now.

You've always got to find that risk versus reward as a defender. But I was a player that never tried to kick the ball out of touch. I always tried to find a way to find a teammate, find a way to play. I'd encourage that from my players. But at the same time, I'm a Libra, so I'm balanced.

So I'd want my team to be pretty balanced defensively and going forward. So each manager's got their own styles.

I've just seen Tottenham over the last couple of seasons who have been a very attacking team but they have some excellent defenders at the same time, individual defenders.

So maybe finding the balance between that was probably the best way to get the best out of the team at that point but we played a free-throwing game and the manager thought that was the best way to achieve things, it's proven for him to be the right way to win things.

So, yeah, everyone's got their own different tactics and that's what makes it great.

Q: What was it like playing with a character like Edgar Davids at Spurs?

Edgar Davids

Edgar was brilliant. When I look back on some of the biggest signings we made, I think Edgar's right up there for the impact that he had.

I remember the first time he walked into the building and the players were in awe of him. This is a guy that had been at the highest level, won everything, been in the adverts, then all of a sudden he's in your building, you're speaking to him.

I remember one of the first conversations we had was him asking me if we can win things. I was still quite a young captain, quite a young player at the time. That was the first player that ever came in and really spoke about winning things straight away.

It had a big impression on me and the young players that we had at the football club. I always remember lining up in the tunnel with him and seeing the opposition players just looking at him, staring at him like ‘it’s Edgar Davids’.

As a player you felt proud to have him in your team. Great guy, loved football. I've heard stories of him actually driving past cages where kids are playing and jumping out of his car and joining them.

He was a player that had a lot of time for the younger players. He'd stay after training and practice with them. So yeah, Edgar was a great, great guy. Great personality and a great signing for the football club.

Q: Who had the biggest impact on you when you were a young player?

When I was in the academy, probably the player that I looked at was Sol Campbell. He was from East London. He was the captain of the team. He was probably the best defender in the team. I looked at him and I saw similarities.

Sol Campbell

Naturally he was someone that I kind of wanted to emulate. Later on I got to join him before he left and had an experience of what it's like to be around him as a top defender.

Sol, probably without knowing it, was a big influence on me. Then, when I came into the team, there were other experienced players like Les Ferdinand and Teddy Sheringham, who was great for me.

I remember the signing of Jamie Redknapp when I was a young player. My first experience with Jamie was coming back from an England under-21s trip. He came and sat next to me and chatted the whole way back.

I thought to myself, what a guy, he didn't have to do that. A few years later I ended up playing with Jamie. He captained the team just before I did, so what an experience.

He had a big influence on me, so yeah, there's been many along the way, as well as many coaches that have really helped me.

Q: Did you see the potential in Gareth Bale when he was coming through?

We saw potential but we didn't see him turning into the Gareth Bale that he ended up being. When he came in he was maybe 18 from Southampton.

Gareth Bale

We saw a great athlete, someone who had a left foot, someone who could run all day. But it took him a while to settle.

He was a quiet kid and I think in the first 24 games that he was involved in, we didn't win the game, which sounds crazy now to say that.

Obviously it wasn't his fault, it was just the way it worked out. I think we were up 4-0 in one game and Harry Redknapp brought him on in the last few minutes of the game just to kind of get that out of the way.

From then on, I think his confidence grew, it was amazing the way he developed into the player he ended up being. We moved him further forward on the left and in the end, he was playing anywhere he wanted to, wherever he could influence the game the best.

It was something that kind of just creeped up. I'd be lying if I said when he first came into the building we knew he was going to be who he was. What I did see was someone who could probably be the best in the left-back position or a wing-back position.

But to be playing across the front three the way he did, I don't think even he saw that. Credit to Harry really because he allowed him to play where he wanted to, where he could influence the game best.

Gareth, when he left Tottenham, I'd say he was probably the third best player in the world behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo at that point. What an achievement.

Q: Has anyone been able to replicate the rise that Gareth Bale achieved?

I do see similarities in the way Harry Kane came through a little bit. Harry was someone who went on loan to numerous clubs as a young kid. He was at Leyton Orient, he was at Norwich, he was at Millwall.

I don’t think many of the supporters and maybe the managers would have said they saw the Harry that he ended up being either.

So it's an example to any young player really that believing in yourself, continuing to work hard. When Harry was coming through the academy he was always a tremendous finisher and someone who had a great work ethic.

Harry Kane

What we weren't sure about was whether he had the pace, the movement, the quickness to play at the very highest level. I remember one season he went away and came back, he seemed to come back stronger, quicker, he already had a football brain on him.

But I think just being a bit quicker helped his game a lot. He grew in strength and size as well. So Harry's an example of someone, as I see, a bit similar to Gareth Bale, we didn't see him becoming the player that he'd become.

Trying to emulate that, all you can do is believe in yourself, continue to work hard and you never know what's around the corner.

Q: Do Harry Kane and Gareth Bale inspire young stars at Spurs?

Definitely. Just looking back, it was amazing that they actually got a chance to play together. Under Jose Mourinho, we brought Gareth Bale back in and that was something beautiful to watch.

I remember being on the sidelines and seeing Bale, Harry Kane and Heung-min Son clicking together and it's unfortunate Gareth didn't play as many games as he probably would have liked to but he still had so much quality.

I think he played maybe 20 odd games and still scored eleven Premier League goals so his return was still excellent but I remember just certain patterns of play when those three used to link up, was a beautiful thing to watch.

I'm glad that those two actually got a chance to actually share the pitch together at the Premier League level, two legends for the football club.

Q: Can Jude Bellingham reach the level of best British player ever alongside Bale?

I think it's just time with Jude. He's at an amazing football club where he's going to win plenty of trophies. So I just think it's time with him. He's got all the attributes to go on to become probably one of the most successful English players that we've seen.

His attitude is spot on, he’s determined to win. He's got that nice balance between arrogance – he toes that line and some of the best players have done it, Wayne Rooney's done it, especially when he was young.

He had that fire in his belly, it's important to have that. I would never take that away from a young player, that's what's going to make him the player that he's going to be.

With time he can go on and achieve something special with England and that will probably take him over the edge. Whether Harry Kane's there to do that with him, Jude has that time to go on a little bit further being younger, to hopefully do that.

There's no doubt that he's going to be in that bracket for sure.

Q: Who would you like to see in your current England defence?

It's difficult. Even looking back a couple of years, I think Harry Maguire was an important player for England. He never let England down, a big tournament player that put his head on the ball in both boxes, which is an underrated part of the game for defenders.

Harry Maguire

I've played with some of the best who have done that. When crosses come in the box and they just head things away and take the pressure away, Michael Dawson being one, John Terry being another one, he has that quality.

Also at the opposite end he pops up with important goals. So he was always an important player. Who's the next one? John Stones when he was fit, of course, but he seems to have had a tough season.

So we're not sure who's going to come in and make that place their own. I would have said Levi Colwill looks like he's had the potential to be the next one being left-footed as well, which was important.

So I'd say there's still definitely a place up for grabs, you would have to say Marc Guehi is probably the first choice. But after that, you know, I'd say it's all to play for.

At full-back, yes, it's difficult. I'd hate to try and pick between Reece James and Trent Alexander-Arnold. I liked the balance that Reece James had in his game, defensively and offensively.

I think Trent has got something special going forward, being able to pick passes out that no one can do, a bit David Beckham-like. I think James was a better defender, but James has had his injury problems that seem to have slowed him down.

On the other side, Myles Lewis-Skelly looks like he's going to be in that position for years to come, really.

It's a tough decision in terms of the right back. We've had Kyle Walker over the years, he's been fantastic as well. But I think really now it's down to who has the best season in that position.

Reece James is someone that Thomas Tuchel knows very well, so that gives him a slight advantage. If he can have a good season, then you could see him kind of just pipping Trent in that position.

Q: Is Harry Kane still the main man for England up front?

I don't think Harry Kane will be seeing the finish line just yet at the World Cup. I've obviously had a chance to be around Harry and I've seen just how professional he is, his attention to detail.

He really looks forward to the big moments in terms of putting his name up there with the very best so he'll be looking forward to that but I don't think he'd be thinking about it being his last at all.

I think that Harry, the type of player that he actually is, his intelligence, his passing ability, his ability to drop deep into a number 10 means that he can play longer, maybe late into his late 30s and still have a big, big impact.

His technique is never going to go away in terms of his vision and creating passes, his shooting technique is still gonna be there. Teddy Sheringham was someone who played very late in his career and I see Harry kind of developing into that type of player.

Less going in behind, like he does, but he has a very good balance in terms of being able to get on the edge of defenders but also coming short. I've always seen Harry as a player that's going to play late into his 30s. There is plenty of football left in his legs.

Q: If you ever went to play for a European giant, who would it have been?

Growing up I was always attracted to Barcelona more than any other team in Europe. A lot of people were Real Madrid fans, I liked Barcelona, just some of the players that they had over the years — Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Gheorghe Hagi, players like that.

But I was happy, I was always happy at Tottenham. I'd never ever come close to ever leaving so it's difficult to say, but I would say that Barcelona was my favourite other club for sure.

Q: What do you make of the Gerrard vs Scholes vs Lampard debate?

It's so difficult to dissect them. Lampard was probably the best at arriving in the box and scoring goals. I think he identified very early what he's good at, what his strengths were and really worked on that and being a difference maker in that area.

Frank Lampard

I think Scholes was probably the more natural of the three. Scholes was probably someone who could just jump out of bed and just play the same game regardless. He had a continental style — it reminds me of a Xavi or Iniesta type, a player that you can't get near, almost Luka Modric-like as well.

Small in stature, but any time you try — I've played in midfield against him — and you try and press him and he'll play it off first time. You give him too much time and he's pinging balls left, right and centre. So very, very difficult to play against.

Paul Scholes

Of course, he was great at arriving in the box as well and scoring goals, especially in his younger years. Gerrard was probably the most complete of the three in terms of being box to box and tackling.

Gerrard was always someone who stood out to me in terms of when I played for England. Scholes retired quite early from international duty. So I played a lot of games with Stevie and Stevie always impressed me, really, really impressed me.

Steve Gerrard

His drive, his passing, shooting, he could tackle, he could do everything. Stevie was one of the players that you could put him at right back, you could play him at centre back. He almost played up front at times for Liverpool. He was one of those players. Just a footballer.

During my time, Stevie probably impressed me most, I'd say, because I played more with him.

Q: Which England midfielders didn’t get enough chances because of those stars?

Owen Hargreaves, before his injuries, was an important part of the England squad, or the England team. He was someone who had great legs. Owen could get around the pitch very, very quickly. He was very sharp and also a very good passer, but I think it was more for his defensive qualities that made him an important player.

The other one is Michael Carrick, who I played with as well. Another player I think is underrated. Some players are just important to football teams. Carrick was that kind of guy. We saw him at Man United and how important he was for them.

A player that was very well balanced, could play off both sides, great positionally, picking up balls. He wasn't someone who you see sliding into things, but he was in the right place because he just knew where to be as a midfielder.

He's probably the other one that I think has suffered a little bit from how strong the midfielders were. Another player who probably didn't achieve as much for me was Joe Cole, for the talent that he had.

I remember Joe as a 16, 17 year old and he was, I think even to this day, he's the most talented English player that I'd seen as a kid. Some of the things that he used to do were unbelievable and it's a shame that he fell victim to the system a little bit because in England it was always 4-4-2.

Joe Cole

So if you get a number 10 type of player, where do you play him? We always put them on the left, don't we? So Joe ended up being a left winger, which is not really his strength. He ended up having to play that role. Now he'd fit into a system a lot better in that number 10 role and we'd see the best of him.

Joe was someone who was probably a little bit unlucky as well. Had things worked out a little bit differently for him, had the timing been different, he would have gone on to have over 100 caps himself.

There's quite a few. I’d put myself in there as well, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell — some excellent players that probably took some caps away from me as well. So there's a few of us in that bracket.

Q: Which of your former teammates did you expect to go on to be managers?

It's strange because a lot of players that you think are going to go into it don't actually end up going into it. If I looked at the England squad, I would have said Gary Neville for sure.

Gary Neville

I know he had a dabble, but I would have said for sure. I would have probably said Jamie Carragher. I would have said Stevie G. In a way, maybe Frank Lampard as well I could have seen.

I probably wouldn't have said Rooney and he now has a real passion for coaching and managing so yeah you just never know.

Jermain Defoe is someone who wants to be a manager now. He's done his badges and I would have never in a million years said — I played with Jermain for many years — that he would go into coaching.

I know Aaron Lennon loves coaching now. He started to do a bit. I would have never said him. I probably would have said Michael Dawson. I would have said Danny Murphy, who I played with, who's not doing it. Robbie Keane is doing it at the moment and doing a really, really good job but he's someone who I could have seen.

You just never know. There's a few that have followed that path that I wouldn’t have expected and quite a few that would have been adamant that would have gone into it that haven't.

Q: What made Mousa Dembélé so special at Spurs?

He was just complete. You couldn't get the ball off him. You couldn't get past him. He just had great balance. He could burst away from players; he was just a silky dribbler.

Mousa Dembélé

It always looks better when you're left-footed and you're able to ease around players. He just had that ability. The game was easy for him.

It was that easy and I firmly believe that Mousa could have played anywhere and you would have seen that. It's just a shame. With some players, they don't get to show themselves at the very, very highest level because I truly believe he's someone who could have played at any club in the world for sure.

Q: Do any current players remind you of Mousa Dembélé?

It was almost like he should be an attacking player, but he actually liked to play deep in the midfield. The way he moved, it's very rare that you get a deep-lying midfielder that is so silky with a ball.

So no, there's not really anyone. I mean, I got a chance to work with Tanguy Ndombele who joined the club and he had some of that about him. He could kind of move past people with the ball. It's something that you don't see very often now.

The game is pass, pass, pass and you don't see central midfielders dribbling too much. You might see them drive with the ball if the space is there. But when they're closed down, it's about the pass rather than actually kind of step past people and go past them.

There's not anyone really that springs to mind off the top of my head. But as I say, I played against Mousa at Fulham, Craven Cottage, and we won the game 3-1, but Mousa was excellent in the game as a number 10.

Martin Jol was the manager at Fulham and I said to Martin after the game: ‘Dembele, he's a good player’ and Martin said: ‘Yeah, he's good, but he only scores three goals a season.’

Now I can see that Mousa was someone who actually preferred to play deeper and that's when we saw the best of him. So maybe Martin got it wrong. Maybe Martin was playing him in the wrong position!

He wasn't a goal scorer. He was just a complete player that could just do everything and could run the game. Luka Modric was a bit like that.

We initially thought Modric was more of an offensive player. It was only when we dropped him deeper, where he liked to pick the ball up off the back and dictate play. That's when we saw the best of him and I think that's what Mousa was.

He was a player that could play anywhere because he had the ability to, but his best position was just sitting deep and kind of just controlling the game from there.

Q: What was working with Harry Redknapp like?

I think the game's changed now. You don't see the characters in the players like you used to anymore as well. There's so much scrutiny, so much attention on the game that the fun element of it gets left behind a little bit at times.

Harry Redknapp

You're almost not allowed to smile and have too much fun while you're doing it these days. But yeah, Harry was great. He was great for me personally because he came in at a time when I'd stopped training and not every manager would allow you to not train and still be able to play, but Harry did.

I would say under Harry I probably had my favourite time at the club in terms of the players that we had at the football club. We're talking about Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart.

It's just a shame that I was suffering during these times, but in terms of the football we were playing, being able to get into the Champions League for the first time, actually do well in the Champions League as well, it was brilliant.

Harry's strength was identifying talent and getting the best out of them. That sounds very, very simple, but it was often players that some managers have struggled to really get the best out of.

Harry had a strength of bringing them in and putting an arm around their shoulders and getting the best out of those types of players and that's why we were able to do so well under him.

I think all the players that I played with under Harry, loved Harry. Van der Vaart has said that it was his favourite time as a player, playing at Tottenham, and a lot of that is down to Harry and how he made us feel. We all loved Harry.

Q: Harry Redknapp said you were the best player despite not training, what was your schedule like?

Harry used to say that I just turned up on the Saturday but I was working hard all week, I just wasn't on the training pitch. While the players came into the changing room and went to the training pitch, I came in and went to the gym.

I had boring days in the gym, work that no player really wants to do, but I knew I had to do. Then there was the swimming pool — even to this day I'm not a great swimmer so that tells you everything you need to know about me in the swimming pool.

I just had to kind of do my work to try to get out onto the pitch to try and help my team. It was tough, there's no doubt about it. It was tough. For five years I didn't train. I just kind of had to have my own schedule, away from the banter and camaraderie on the pitch.

But yeah, my main focus was just trying to help my team and I knew that I was still an important player for the football club. I knew it was a better team when I was there.

It became less about how good I could be, but more about how good I can make the team be when I'm there, how I can influence everyone else to be much better.

That became my sole focus. It's easier when you're able to train every day and you naturally don't have to think about yourself too much because you know that you've done the work and then you can start to think about other things.

I had it in a kind of different way where I knew I was going on the pitch kind of undercooked, so to speak, so my job solely became about forgetting about yourself and let's make everyone else better and make sure that the team is winning.

I had to do that, I just had to kind of make the team a better team when I was there otherwise there's no point in me being there. I had to make sure that the players alongside me were better players when I was there.

Q: What makes the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium so special?

The stadium is out of this world, it's unbelievable. People often ask me, do I wish I played in the new stadium? And I say no, because I loved where I played. I loved the closeness of the fans, the tightness of the stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium // Dignity100/shutterstock

But now that I've retired, I get all the benefits of the amazing stadium, the Michelin-star chefs that we have in the stadium, and some of the lounges which are incredible. So I've kind of enjoyed getting a chance to enjoy both.

I've had an opportunity now to be on the pitch, the training pitch. I've stood on the side of the pitch, kind of in a coaching capacity. But yeah, it's an unbelievable stadium.

It's not just a football stadium, it's the hub of the community at the moment. It's just 24/7 with things going on at the stadium. As we see now, having international stars coming over and performing at the moment.

It's also doing a lot of work in terms of creating jobs in the area, in an area that's quite deprived. So it's been a big thing and it's had a big impact on the area.

It just so happens to be the best stadium in the world and the blueprint now of how stadiums are going to be built.

Q: What impact could Gareth Bale have at Cardiff?

Gareth's obviously a local lad and he is a proud Welshman for sure. For him to be able to give back as Cardiff manager after the amazing career that he's had, to be able to give back to his hometown football club is amazing.

I know that Gareth, if he does go down that route, he'll be determined to make a success of it, like he was as a player. I've seen that Luka Modric might be getting involved in some aspects as well at Swansea, so that would be a nice little rivalry going on there.

They've both had amazing careers, they've both been successful on the pitch and I'm sure they will try their best to be off the pitch as well.

Q: How special has it been to see what Wrexham are doing?

They'll get there. I believe that they'll get there. Next year, in the next two or three years, I think they're going to get to where they want to be.

It's been amazing. There's young people, young kids that have probably never heard of Wrexham a few years ago. To see the way they've climbed through the leagues, I think they're coming for sure.

As I say, it won't be too long before they're a Premier League club and once they get there, they'll be looking to stay there. So it just goes to show that anything can happen in football.

You're never too far away as a football club, especially if you're in the Football League. Someone coming in and really supporting the club and taking it to a next level shows what can be done.

It's amazing and it gives everyone hope. It gives every team hope that, you know, in their lifetime they can maybe see their team that they never dreamed would be in the Premier League. It can happen.

Q: Quickfire round

How much would a prime Ledley King cost in today’s game?

Let’s go with £80 million.

Who in today’s game reminds you of your own playing style?

It’s tough, maybe Marc Guehi is the closest, it’s difficult.

Most underrated player you played with?

Tom Huddlestone gets overlooked at times, Scott Parker is another one, a very good midfielder. Michael Dawson gets underrated at the back.

One defender you wish you'd played with?

My favourite defender was Maldini, so I'd have to go with him.

One striker you wish you'd played against?

My favourite striker growing up was R9. I never got a chance to play against him. Played against Brazil, played against Ronaldinho, but not Ronaldo.

But it's funny because at the time I didn't really want to play against him. Not because I was scared but because I grew up loving everything about him, I wasn't that keen to play against him.

But looking back now, that would have been the ultimate test. I think I knew his game so well. I watched every game he played in as a kid. It would have been interesting. He was amazing, he was amazing.

Who was the hardest teammate you ever had?

Scotty Parker was tough, had big solid legs and loved a tackle. He’d put in an old school tackle and put someone in the air. I’d have to say Scotty.

Who was the hardest player you played against?

I played against Roy Keane a few times but I’d say Duncan Ferguson. I remember playing against him and he was late in his career, I was young.

I remember before a goal kick was going to be taken, he only played for maybe 10 minutes of the game. As the goalkeeper's taking the goal kick and I'm kind of positioning myself up against him, the first thing he said was: ‘Don't touch me otherwise I'll stick one on you.’

I thought, jheeze, I was a young kid at the time, I figured that's a bit harsh. So the ball came over and I kind of expected him to elbow me or do something. That put me off my header and he ended up winning the header, when I had won the header before that.

So it's funny how that got in my mind and put me off. That's something that I learned, you can't let their words kind of control you.

He was someone who was tough and if I upset him, I'm sure he would have stuck one on me. So I'd have to say Big Dunc.

Who was the biggest joker in a dressing room you were in?

Biggest joker? There's two that spring to mind. When I was younger it was Ben Thatcher. Absolutely crazy — obviously he came from a crazy gang at Wimbledon and then Millwall. He was someone that you definitely had to keep an eye on.

The other one was David Bentley. David Bentley loved having a laugh in general. He was a really talented player and part of why he retired was because the game became a bit stale and not fun.

He was someone who just wanted to play and have a laugh and have banter and the game was kind of going away from that a little bit. But David Bentley was someone I remember.

He was the person who threw the ice bucket over Harry Redknapp and he wasn't really playing much at all at that point. So it just goes to show that he really didn't care about anything. His main focus was making everyone else laugh.

Who was the most stylish teammate you ever had?

Berbatov. Most people would be in tracksuit bottoms and shorts, Berbatov would be in Gucci loafers, proper trousers, every single day. Sunglasses, like he was going somewhere.

He was the most stylish, I never saw him in a tracksuit or shorts unless he was playing.

Who had the worst fashion sense?

Roman Pavlyuchenko. A bit too bright, some of his items were not suited together and just chucked on as a name brand. He thought you could throw it all together. Too many colours I'd say.

Q: Winner Stays On – Premier League forwards of Ledley King’s era

Robbie Keane or Yakubu? Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane or Peter Crouch? Robbie Keane

Robbie Keane or Jermain Defoe? Jermain Defoe

Jermain Defoe or Michael Owen? Michael Owen

Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney? Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney or Fernando Torres? Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney or Didier Drogba? Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney or Thierry Henry? Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry or Alan Shearer? Thierry Henry

With Alan Shearer, I played against him when I was very young and he was strong, he was tough in that respect. As a mature player I think I would’ve been able to deal with that.

Henry was a player that drifted around the pitch. Drogba plays in front of you more or less and I feel like I could match his physicality, but a great, great player.

Wayne Rooney was a bit more clever, he dropped deep and sometimes you can’t go in there, he could shoot, pass and that is a difficult one for me.

Henry could go out on the left, cut in, shoot, dribble, could get in behind you — he was the full package. Players that were in the box I was comfortable with, it was the ones who were outside the box and drifting that were tougher.

Q: Stay quiet until you hear a defender better than Ledley King

Joleon Lescott – Quiet

Jonathan Woodgate – Quiet

Jamie Carragher – Quiet

Ricardo Carvalho – Quiet

William Gallas – Quiet

Nemanja Vidic – I’ll give the credit to Vidic. He has achieved more. Do I think I was a better player? Yes. But when it’s close I’ll give the credit to someone who won more.

Q: All-Time Premier League XI

Peter Schmeichel; John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Virgil van Dijk; Cristiano Ronaldo, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, Thierry Henry; Alan Shearer, Harry Kane

In goal Peter Schmeichel — he was just a beast between the sticks. I can just remember him coming out and doing his starfish saves, just an intimidating goalkeeper that put strikers off.

I’d go three in defence with John Terry, Rio and Virgil van Dijk. In midfield it would be Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes — Manchester United dominated the Premier League.

I’d have Thierry Henry on the left and Cristiano Ronaldo on the right. With Alan Shearer, he has the record, up front, and Harry Kane. Wayne Rooney is close… it’s tough.

Q: Dream five-a-side team of players played with (Goalkeeper, defender, 2 midfielders, striker, manager)

Goalkeeper: Two spring to mind — Heurelho Gomes and Paul Robinson. I’d have to go with Gomes because he was there longer and he made saves that no other keeper I played with could’ve made.

Defender: I’d have Michael Dawson. He threw his body in the way of everything. He was so good at blocking.

Midfielders: Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.

Striker: In a five-a-side, Robbie Keane could float around and do a bit of everything, but a proper, proper goalscorer would be Jermain Defoe — that’s his game. He is a nightmare.

Manager: Harry Redknapp, for sure.

Q: Who is Ledley King’s most iconic player from each of these eras?

Premier League 1995–2005: Beckham was big, wasn’t he? He burst onto the scene and was huge in terms of the impact he had. He was always a big character and had that global impact.

Premier League 2005–2015: Wayne Rooney because of the way he burst onto the scene. We knew he had something special straight away. Look at the first game he played when he scored that goal against David Seaman.

He played in the European Championships at 18 and I remember his hat-trick in the Champions League. He burst onto the scene and we knew we had something very special in an English player.

Premier League 2015–2025: Man City have been so strong in that time period. Kevin De Bruyne has been fantastic, Sergio Aguero played a big part, Mohamed Salah is up there having won two titles, but City have done it all so I would go for De Bruyne.

Q: Build your perfect player from one body part per player

Left leg: I'll take the left foot of Gareth Bale. I've seen him ping a ball, I've seen him curl a ball. As a defender you need to be able to wrap it into feet as well. But can also spread play.

Right foot: Stevie G had a great right foot. Kevin De Bruyne has a great right foot. But I’d go for Beckham.

Hips: Mousa Dembele's hips are pretty good. His hips are very good at protecting the ball, which is important. He can twist and turn, but he can also put his hips into people and get the ball off them.

Upper body: I don’t want someone too big so I’m not going to say Adama Traore! Just needs that nice frame — Virgil van Dijk would be good.

Engine: I'll tell you who was really fit. David Beckham again was really fit. A fit player that could get up and down. But maybe Stevie G, someone who can get box to box.

Head: Terry was good. But I like Drogba. I like Drogba in both boxes. He was someone who cleared so many corner kicks away at the front post as well as scoring at the other end.

Brains: I've got to go Messi. He's the best player I've seen during my lifetime, so I've got to take his brain.