Andres Iniesta, Kevin De Bruyne and more: Chelsea icon John Obi Mikel builds his ultimate midfielder

Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel named Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta and Manchester City sensation Kevin De Bruyne, among others, while building his ultimate midfielder. In an interview with ESPN, Mikel first named Inter Miami midfielder and Barcelona icon Sergio Busquets for his passing ability. He then picked Gennaro Gatusso for the Italian’s work rate while going with ex-Blaugrana manager Xavi for his ability to score.

Moving to vision, a quality that is extremely important in tight spaces, Mikel picked Iniesta. The 40-year-old made 674 appearances across competitions for the Catalan club, bagging 57 goals and 136 assists.

Another quality that most coaches look for is technique, for which Mikel chose De Bruyne. Still going strong for Manchester City, the Belgium international has scored 107 goals and assisted 170 times for the club in 382 appearances across competitions.

Mikel also picked De Bruyne’s teammate and holding midfielder Rodri for his skills in midfield while saying Andrea Pirlo’s name when it came to football IQ. The only other quality that needed to be filled was strength, for which the former Blues man went with ex-Chelsea teammate Michael Essien.

The pair shared the pitch 125 times in all competitions for the west Londoners playing beside one another, but failed to record a joint goal contribution.

Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard says Kevin De Bruyne is the best midfielder in the world

Kevin De Bruyne
Ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid attacker Eden Hazard called his former Belgium teammate Kevin De Bruyne the best midfielder in the world. The pair have played with each other on 81 occasions across competitions, bagging seven joint goal contributions.

Currently, the Manchester City man is away with Belgium for Euro 2024, where his country lost their first match against Slovakia 1-0. However, Hazard believes his country will compete to win the competition, saying (via Man City News)

“I think they have a great chance, they have the best player in the world, so let’s see. To win something, sometimes, you need a bit of luck with injuries and this and that, so they have great chance, they are good.

“He can make everything, every pass, he can see everything quicker than anyone, faster than anyone, that’s why he’s special.”

To date, De Bruyne has played 102 matches across competitions for Belgium, bagging 27 goals. Their next Euro 2024 group match is against Romania on Saturday (June 22)