Featured Image Credit: The Overlap/YouTube/Getty
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Premier League, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City, Champions League
Luke Davies
Topics: Marcus Rashford, Premier League, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City, Champions League
Marcus Rashford did not mention Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk or Mohamed Salah when naming the ‘best player in the Premier League’.
Rashford, 27, revealed his pick when speaking to former Manchester United captain Gary Neville on The Overlap in July 2023.
The United academy graduate, who is currently on loan at Aston Villa, answered 30 quick-fire questions put to him by Neville, 50.
Among these were questions about his favourite away ground, which he revealed was Barcelona’s Camp Nou, and the best dressing room character before he named his former United teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović.
"He's just himself no matter where he goes,” explained Rashford.
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It must be said that Rashford said this ahead of the 2023/24 campaign after Manchester City had just won a historic treble, clinching the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League just months earlier.
One of the key players during the campaign, and over the past decade for that matter, is Kevin De Bruyne.
Rashford named the Belgian as the league’s best player over the last “four or five years”.
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"Best player in the Premier League right now?” Rashford said.
“Last season [2022/23], it was definitely Haaland, but I think over the last four or five years, De Bruyne 100%."
And despite the obvious rivalry between United and Pep Guardiola’s side, the England international even went a step further and praised another then-City man when naming his Kyle Walker – on loan at AC Milan – as his toughest-ever opponent.
"His physical capabilities are just unbelievable," Rashford said.
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"It's always going to be a tough day [against him].
"You have to try and catch him off guard or get him in the wrong positions, but even then, he can recover. It's always a difficult game against him.
"I just try and drift into places where he can't drift, or where he has to pass me on into. And when he does pass me on, I just pull back a little bit, away from the defensive midfielder or wherever it is."
The 27-year-old also explained how he favoured playing on the left-wing despite being used as a central striker at times.