Real Madrid and Germany legend Toni Kroos has picked out Barcelona star Pedri as the best midfielder in world football.
Kroos retired from all forms of football last summer after an illustrious career at the top spanning nearly two decades.
The German is remembered as one of the finest midfield players of his generation having won practically every accolade in the game, including the 2014 World Cup, four La Liga titles and five Champions League crowns.
But Kroos’ retirement leaves a void for the next wave of midfielders to step up and make a name for themselves as the leaders of the next generation, with a changing of the guard taking place at his former club Real Madrid.
There remains uncertainty over the future of Kroos’ long-time partner in crime, Luka Modric, and the likes of Jude Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga
and Arda Guler will be expected to take up the baton over the coming seasons at the Bernabeu.
But according to Kroos, Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona boast the most complete midfielder on the planet in Pedri.
The Spain international has been firing on all cylinders, with Barca looking to add the Champions League and La Liga to their haul this season having already lifted the Spanish Super Cup and the Copa del Rey.
‘For me, a player like Pedri is more important than Lamine Yamal, Raphinha or Lewandowski,’ Kroos said on his podcast Einfach mal Luppen.
‘They may decide the results of matches, but to do that, Pedri is currently the best player in the world in his position.
‘He’s a player you will miss when he’s not playing, whoever you are playing against.
‘He doesn’t just score goals or provide assists, he offers solutions.’
Kroos has kept a close eye on Pedri throughout Barca’s European campaign and believes the Spaniard has got the better of every opponent he has come up against.
‘I have been watching what Pedri is doing this season. In the Champions League, he’s better than his opponents in every game,’ he added.
‘In La Liga, the difference [between him and his opponents] is only more extreme.
‘If you lose a player like him, you will notice. He’s the best.
‘He’s one of the few midfielders in his position that has the ability to beat dribble past players when there is no space.
‘A player like Pedri helps you in every area of the game.’
Looking back on his own tussles with Pedri, Kroos remembered how the Barcelona academy graduate ran rings around him during one particular El Clasico meeting.
‘I experienced it myself, once especially. He demolished us [Madrid] at home,’ Kroos continued.
‘Once or twice I thought I could get to him, because he doesn’t look so quick, but he dribbles so well and I couldn’t even stop him with a foul.
‘He’s not like [Lionel] Messi, whose speed of movement you see. Pedri doesn’t seem so quick, but he really is.’
Is Pedri the best midfielder in the world?
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Yes
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No
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