The former Tottenham Hotspur player feels the Belgian stands heads and shoulders above some of the greatest Premier League midfielders
Former Liverpool midfielder Jamie Redknapp has explained why he thinks Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is the best in the world.
The Belgian has always been in top form and is one of the main engines in City’s drive to win a treble this season. De Bruyne's eight-year stay at the Etihad has been phenomenal for the club, which has amassed major trophies over the last 10 years.
While comparing the Belgian and retired midfielders, who are also considered great, Redknapp pointed out IQ as a factor that differentiates the City midfielder from the rest.
"It's tough, I'm going to be talking about family because there's never going to be a better goalscoring Premier League midfielder than Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard was Roy of the Rovers, Patrick Vieira, Roy Keane, all brilliant players," said Redknapp, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"But I just feel with all his [De Bruyne’s] attributes, I've never seen anyone pass the ball so beautifully. His football IQ, the way he sees gaps and threads through passes with such pin-point accuracy, I haven't seen it before. The goals he scores, he's a beautiful striker of the ball; for me, he's the greatest."
To Redknapp, De Bruyne stands out because he has all the attributes that the likes of Paul Scholes, Lampard, and Gerrard lacked.
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The tactician warned despite the fact that his side sits two points behind Arsenal and has more games pending.
"A lot of people talk about Paul Scholes, and they've got a very similar way they see the game - he wasn't blessed with blistering pace, he wasn't the most mobile. But his brain was just so good, and when you had to play against him, he'd challenge you in so many different ways," he added.
"If you gave him space, he'd hit a 30-yard cross-field pass, if you got too tight, he'd play little one-twos around you. That's the same for Gerrard and Lampard. All these players had these attributes that made them great, but Kevin De Bruyne has all of them.
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City produced a masterclass to overwhelm the league leaders and win big at the Etihad.
"His [De Bruyne’s] football brain and IQ make him No.1 for me, and hopefully we can find a little bit more about what makes him tick because every young footballer should watch him and the way he plays in midfield.
"When he has the ball, it doesn't matter if he's at full pelt or the game is slow, he always manages to find the right pass."
Earlier in the season, De Bruyne had lost his place under Pep Guardiola, but he is firmly back on top form now.