Rio Ferdinand has stated that one Manchester City player is one of the five best players in his position in world football.
Manchester City have several players, based on the 2023/2024 season and the past who could be brought up in such discussions.
The likes of Ederson, Phil Foden and Rodri, who all had excellent individual campaigns spring to mind.
Rio Ferdinand says one Man City star is one of the five best players in his position in the world
The best teams in the world all have plenty of players who are rightfully named in such discussions by pundits.
For instance, Bayern Munich have a striker of Harry Kane’s calibre and a right-back of Joshua Kimmich’s ilk — two players who could be considered up there with the best strikers and right-backs in the world respectively.
Similarly, Real Madrid have centre-backs like Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao and wingers like Vinicius and Rodrygo Junior at their disposal — who can toe-to-toe with most, if not every player in their respective positions.
Rio Ferdinand feels John Stones is one of the five best centre-backs in world football.
The pundit told GiveMeSport: “Had a few injuries but when he plays, he’s still top.”
John Stones must be honoured to get such a compliment from Rio Ferdinand
Much like Rio Ferdinand, John Stones was viewed as a continental style of centre-back from the time he started to garner attention — at West Ham United and Everton respectively. The £50 million man was comparable to Ferdinand in this respect as a youngster and just like the Manchester United legend, he also fulfilled his potential as a promising wonderkid.
As Rio Ferdinand stated, John Stones has suffered from persistent injuries this season.
But availability or a lack thereof should not impact how a player is viewed, in our view, if the catalogue of world-class campaigns they have produced is undeniable.
In Stones’ case, that has certainly been the case for the past few years and for that reason, it would be unfair not to acknowledge him amongst the crème-de-la-crème of centre-backs in the world.