Rio Ferdinand has claimed that there is a player in the Premier League whose passing is as good as Kevin De Bruyne.
In May, Jamie Carragher claimed that a case can be made that the Manchester City midfielder’s passing is the greatest in Premier League history.
City’s number 17 also has the second most assists in the Premier League — 112 in 260 appearances.
Ferdinand says one Premier League player’s passing is De Bruyne-level
Not many players in the history of the game, let alone just the English top-flight have had a passing range like the City legend.
Considering the variety of assists the Belgian has provided over the years coupled with how he is relatively two-footed in this respect and how he has mastered short and long-range passing as well; the six-time Premier League winner is truly one of a kind.
Rio Ferdinand feels Trent Alexander-Arnold is as good of a passer of the ball as Kevin De Bruyne.
On FIVE’s official YouTube channel, he said: “Trent’s [Alexander-Arnold] ridiculous. I can’t talk highly enough about him with the ball. His passing range, it’s like [Kevin] De Bruyne, it’s [David] Beckham-esque, them levels. Put the ball anywhere you want.”
Kevin De Bruyne has more variety to his passing than Trent Alexander-Arnold
In our view, contrary to the claim from Rio Ferdinand, Trent Alexander-Arnold is not as brilliant of a passer as Kevin De Bruyne is.
But if there is one player in world football whose passing is comparable to De Bruyne’s, it is the Englishman.
Perhaps Rio Ferdinand feels Trent Alexander-Arnold can execute several passes that Kevin De Bruyne can. But even so, De Bruyne possesses far more variety to his passes, especially in terms of his final ball.
In this respect, the former VFL Wolfsburg attacker is a cut above the rest in his generation.
Examples such as the 32-year-old’s outside-the-boot cross to set John Stones’ goal up against Crystal Palace in 2021 as well as his lobbed pass to assist Oscar Bobb’s late winner against Newcastle last season showcase the variety of final balls in his locker.
Trent Alexander-Arnold perhaps does not have the same variety to his passing as Kevin De Bruyne does as a creator but where one can see eye-to-eye with Rio Ferdinand is they are comparable to a degree.