Kobbie Mainoo names the four legendary players he models his game on including Manchester City icon

Kobbie Mainoo has revealed the four legendary Barcelona and Real Madrid players he watches to improve his already impressive midfield capabilities and the inclusion of a Manchester City icon as part of that quartet might come as a surprise.

Speaking to GQ with Chelsea star and England team-mate Cole Palmer, the Manchester United teenager listed Real Madrid duo Luka Modric and Clarence Seedorf along with former Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets as the men who inspired his game. He also named a second player with Barcelona pedigree who won the Premier League three times with Man United's local rivals.

"I like to watch Busquets, the way he used to turn. Players like Seedorf, Modric," said the 19-year-old. Mainoo's style was compared to a different Real Madrid titan by Paul Scholes, who likened the way he plays to Zinedine Zidane, who won the Ballon d'Or and the World Cup in 1998 before helping Real Madrid to a Champions League win in 2001/02 and a La Liga title in 2002/03.

Six-time Champions League winner Modric is still playing for the Spanish champions at more than twice Mainoo's age. Busquets is also still going, playing behind Leo Messi and Luis Suarez for Major League Soccer Supporters' Shield winners Inter Miami.

Kobbie Mainoo is now a key player for United and England (Image: Getty)

The fourth and final player in Mainoo's inspirational quartet is Yaya Toure, who joined Man City from Barcelona and won the Premier League three times with Manchester City. "I like the way he used to play," said Mainoo.

Toure's first and last Premier League titles with Man City came at the expense of United, who finished second behind City in 2011/12 and 2017/18. Stockport-born Mainoo was seven years old when Toure was part of the Man City team that pipped United to the title thanks to a famous 3-2 win against Queens Park Rangers on the last day of the 2011/12 season.

Yaya Toure won the Premier League three times with Manchester City (Image: Zuma Press, Inc. / Alamy)

Mainoo's influences have amassed between them a total of 513 international caps, 14 Champions League winner medals and a Ballon d'Or. The Man United midfielder has chosen the right players to learn from and will be eager to progress his own game further under new manager Ruben Amorim.