Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has admitted who he would prefer to play with between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
He is one of the best midfielders in recently football history but De Bruyne isn't quite on the level of Ronaldo and Messi, who are widely regarded as two of the all-time greats.
The Belgium international has faced both players during his career but he gave a clear reason why he would rather play with one than the other.
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It won't go down well with City fans, but the 33-year-old admitted that he would rather link up with Ronaldo because Messi might get in his way.
"I would probably say Ronaldo because he’s more of a typical striker," De Bruyne said last year. "Messi is still more of a playmaker. I am a playmaker, you can give me a striker."
De Bruyne thrives off having that focal point to play off. In the past two years, he has caused chaos playing alongside Erling Haaland, who scored an incredible 52 goals in his debut season at City.
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Earlier this year, after he was one of six Manchester City players voted into the FIFA FIFPRO World 11, De Bruyne's teammate Kyle Walker said the midfielder is in the same bracket as Messi and Ronaldo.
"I think there's only certain players, the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, that you can say are in the same bracket as Kevin – Kevin goes into that bracket for me," Walker said.
“When he came on against Newcastle, you could feel that push, you could feel that energy and that excitement. He gives you a lift and Kevin is at his best when he's on the ball playing passes that you don't think are even visible to play.”
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Messi and Ronaldo have dominated football for more than 15 years, with both scoring a ridiculous amount of goals and collecting 79 trophies and 12 Ballons d'Or between them.
Their rivalry was a healthy one as they forced one another to raise their game.
Topics: Kevin De Bruyne, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi
Alex Brotherton