Danny Murphy has likened one Manchester City player to former tennis star Roger Federer.
Back in September 2022, Federer announced his retirement from tennis, leaving him with 103 titles and 20 Grand Slams throughout what was undeniably a top-class career.
This shows that the former tennis star certainly knew what it took to win and win consistently, which is what City have done in recent years under Pep Guardiola.
Their latest season saw the Blues win a sixth Premier League title in seven years and become the first side to win four in a row.
Now though, one of the star players in Guardiola’s squad has found themselves being mentioned in the same breath as Federer.
Danny Murphy says Kevin De Bruyne is the Roger Federer of football
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy had this to say on the subject of Kevin De Bruyne and what he’s done during his time with City.
He said: “He is beautiful to watch and his movement is lovely and it’s all effortless.
“I described him as the Federer of football once because when you watch Federer play it always looks so easy. You know he’s trying really hard to win but you don’t sense that, same with De Bruyne.
“It all just looks so effortless and I think he’s in the conversation, probably in the top five, top three of best midfielders the Premier League has ever seen.”
De Bruyne is one of the best in Premier League history
Since joining City from Wolfsburg back in the 2015 summer transfer window in a deal worth £54m, the midfielder has made 382 appearances in all competitions.
Across those games, the 32-year-old has scored 102 goals, delivered 170 assists and won numerous titles including six Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, five League Cups and the Champions League.
Back in April, after seeing De Bruyne score his 100th goal for City in their 4-2 win over Crystal Palace, Guardiola said that the midfielder is one of the best players in the club’s history.
In addition to that, former City and Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, who was one of the first eight former players to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame, said that the Belgian is one of the best midfielders in top-flight history.
With all of that in mind, it comes as no surprise that Murphy thinks the same thing and even likened him to a sportsperson as successful as Federer.