Jamie Carragher believes Manchester City maestro Kevin De Bruyne is better than legends of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.
It’s been a difficult start to the season for De Bruyne as he suffered a serious hamstring injury just 23 minutes into the opening game which ruled him out for the rest of 2023.
However, the brilliant Belgian is now back to full fitness and has roared back to his best form, picking up a goal and two assists in just three appearances.
Despite his lengthy spell on the side lines, De Bruyne is far away the top creator in Europe’s major leagues since August 2022 with 33 assists.
Jamie Carragher heaps praise on Kevin De Bruyne
“He’s been the best player in the Premier League for the last four, five years,” Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
“Virtually since he came back from Germany and signed for Manchester City. I think he’s been the difference, really, when you think how often they’ve pipped Liverpool in terms of league titles, I think if you put him in the Liverpool shape, Liverpool would win the league.
“I think that’s how dominant he is. If you look at the company he’s in, some of the best players in the world. Griezmann, for me, probably one of the most underrated players we’ve seen in the last five years.
“But Kevin De Bruyne is going to go down as an all time great in the Premier League. He’s in an all-time Premier League XI.
“When you think of the greatest foreign players, or any players, to play in the Premier League, we always use the same names. You go back to Cantona, Zola, Bergkamp.
“Those three players I’ve just mentioned are absolutely legendary figures in the Preimer League and at their clubs. He is better than all of them.”
Kevin De Bruyne tops the assist charts
With 33 assists in all competitions since the start of the 2022/23 season, De Bruyne is by some distance the best creator in top European football.
Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann is his closest rival but he has eight fewer on 25. Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is next with 24.
Next comes Real Madrid sensation Vinicius Jr and Arsenal hero Bukayo Saka on 23 each but none of them come close to De Bruyne.
How Kevin De Bruyne compares to Dennis Bergkamp
It can be hard to draw comparisons between any Premier League legend of the past and today’s current stars given how completely different the sport is today.
Fitness levels have never been higher, physical demands have never been tougher, the speed of the game has never been faster.
So it goes without saying that De Bruyne is a better player than the three legends Carragher mentioned but the one that might come closest to matching him is Bergkamp.
Even though De Bruyne has a much bigger engine, Bergkamp had a similar poise and elegance to City’s No.17. That same ability to pull off magic with just a single deft touch of the ball.
The non-flying Dutchman was technically a striker in the era of 4-4-2 but player in a more withdrawn position and was so influential going forward. In 422 games for Arsenal, he scored 120 goals and grabbed 103 assists.
Yet, despite being a midfielder, De Bruyne is set to smash both his records. He already has a lot more assists with 157 and is 23 goals away from matching Bergkamp there, too.
