Pep Guardiola has plenty of outstanding passers of the ball at his disposal and the same is the case at Manchester City.
Phil Foden’s raking long ball to Erling Haaland in the dying embers of his side’s 2-1 win against Wolves is an indication of the quality of passers Manchester City have on their books.
Pep Guardiola has always seemed to favour midfielders who have an incredible range of passing throughout his career.
At Barcelona, the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano were all outstanding passers of the ball.
The same statement applies to Thiago Alcantara, Thomas Mueller and Xabi Alonso — who all played instrumental roles under Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
During his spell at the Etihad Stadium, even current players like Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan all have enviable ranges of passing.
- READ MORE: ‘He’s brilliant’: Sam Allardyce says £35m player is actually Man City’s best passer, not De Bruyne
Micah Richards hints Kevin De Bruyne is the greatest passer in history
While in the past, names like David Silva, Yaya Toure and Fernandinho were terrific passers as well.
Considering City also used to mostly dominate the ball under both Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, it was crucial for them to have a team where players were proficient at the art of passing.
During the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, Micah Richards was asked to build his perfect player alongside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.
When it came to the category of passing, Richards instantly named De Bruyne, saying: “I’m going to go Kevin De Bruyne.”
| MICAH RICHARDS’ PERFECT PLAYER | |
| ATTRIBUTE | PLAYER |
| PASSING | KEVIN DE BRUYNE |
| RIGHT FOOT | DAVID BECKHAM |
| SPEED | THIERRY HENRY |
| DRIBBLING | RONALDINHO |
| SKILL | JAY-JAY OKOCHA |
| STRENGTH | JOHN CAREW |
| DEFENDING | PAOLO MALDINI |
| FOOTBALLING IQ | DIEGO MARADONA |
Cole Palmer named De Bruyne as one of the best-ever passers alongside the likes of Toni Kroos and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen picked De Bruyne’s passing as the best in the world as well.
While Anthony Gordon claimed he would sign De Bruyne for Newcastle if that was a possibility due to his “special ability” to pick out passes that would hand him more one-on-one chances.
Mateo Kovacic described De Bruyne as a “genius” as he seems to command respect from his teammates, fellow players and pundits.
Jamie Redknapp claimed De Bruyne is the Premier League’s best-ever passer
While Micah Richards seems to reckon the Belgian is the best passer the game has ever seen, Jamie Redknapp claimed he is the greatest in this regard in Premier League history back in 2021.
Redknapp said on Sky Sports: “We’ve spoken before about the Premier League’s best strikers, but when it comes to the league’s best-ever passers, Kevin De Bruyne is the best the Premier League has ever seen. I’ve never seen anyone like him. The weight of the ball, the killer-ball passes, the precision is just phenomenal.”
“All great players look like they have more time than everyone else on the pitch. His football IQ is so high with the way he spots the pass, analyses it and then his ability to execute it is just phenomenal. Everything looks so easy for him. He’s probably already given his Easter Eggs out, he’s so far ahead of everyone else!”
“He’s just so good. I think he’s the bes, I’ve never seen a better passer of the ball than him. He can hit a 30-yard passes like [Paul] Scholes, he can play those little passes like the great exponents of it such as Xabi Alonso, but he just sees it so easy. What a player.”
De Bruyne’s wide array of passes remain one of a kind and Pep Guardiola will be hoping that he can terrorise teams with his special gift once he is fit and firing again.
The Manchester City maestro’s outstanding passing is perhaps a strength of his that sets him apart from most players of his generation.
