Rio Ferdinand has revealed whether Kevin De Bruyne or Jude Bellingham is the better midfielder.
Previously, Alan Shearer stated that if given a choice to play with either of them, he would choose the Belgian maestro.
Currently, the pair, alongside Phil Foden and Jamal Musiala are some of the best attacking midfielders in the world.
On form, Bellingham and Foden are on a different stratosphere compared to the rest based on this season, with De Bruyne’s season being hampered by injuries.
However, Rio Ferdinand was not asked the question on form but in general.
The consensus would be that Kevin De Bruyne is still on another level than Jude Bellingham, with the former being a veteran of the sport and having dominated club football like not many players have in recent history.
Rio Ferdinand picks who’s better: Kevin De Bruyne or Jude Bellingham
Manchester City’s number 17 is one of the greatest midfielders the game has ever seen, regardless of whether one is discussing attacking midfielders, central midfielders or holding midfielders.
Jude Bellingham is a phenomenon but his career at the elite level is only in its infancy.
Also, unlike De Bruyne, the Real Madrid wonderkid is yet to win a league title or the Champions League, even though he looks set to win La Liga this season.
Perhaps the Englishman may be picked if it was commonly agreed that the 32-year-old was over the hill.
But that is not the case as the City legend has shown that he remains a class act upon his return from injury and can go toe-to-toe with midfielders of Bellingham’s ilk.
However, Ferdinand has an unpopular opinion.
When quizzed about whether Kevin De Bruyne or Jude Bellingham is better by TNT Sports, Rio Ferdinand sided with his countryman.
“[Kevin] De Bruyne, yeah but I’m going to go for youth and the man of the moment, Jude Bellingham”, he said.
Recency bias about Kevin De Bruyne
In our view, Rio Ferdinand has shown a bit of recency bias by picking Jude Bellingham over Kevin De Bruyne.
Just last season, De Bruyne won the treble and showed he is one of the best players in the world, alongside the likes of Mbappe, Haaland, Messi, Rodri and Griezmann to name a few.
Bellingham might be in such discussions come the end of the season but the difference is that the five-time Premier League winner has maintained such levels for longer than the former has even played professional football.
Unless Rio Ferdinand specified that he was picking Jude Bellingham over Kevin De Bruyne solely based on his form this season, the pick does not make much sense, in our view.