“Can’t even lace Zidane’s boot”: Kyle Walker gets trolled by fans after comparing Kevin De Bruyne to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo

The soccer world is full of opinions and facts, with the former being the source of much debate, such as who is the GOAT among Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Kevin De Bruyne is also one of the most debated soccer stars, owing to his huge success with Manchester City in recent years.

The Belgian midfield maestro was absent for most of the season due to a grave injury, but he has now returned with a bang, earning much praise. And now a debate about his position in world soccer has come up.

Kyle Walker believes Kevin De Bruyne on par with Messi and Ronaldo

There is no doubt that Kevin De Bruyne has been one of the best midfielders in the past few years and probably the best player for Manchester City. There is already a growing debate on whether he is the best midfielder in the history of the Premier League. The Belgian recently proved his abilities in his return game against Newcastle United, scoring and assisting to help City grab a 3-2 win.

De Bruyne was recently chosen for the 2023 FIFPRO World XI team, which highlighted the brilliant year he had with Manchester City, which included a historic treble victory. It was the fourth consecutive time he has been included there. His teammate Kyle Walker was on the same team, and after the award show, he was asked about De Bruyne’s legacy.

The right back said that he felt that De Bruyne was now in the same category as the very best in world soccer, that is, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. “I think there’s only certain players, the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, that you can say are in the same bracket as Kevin – Kevin goes into that bracket for me.”

He also spoke about the massive impact he has on the team, “When he came on against Newcastle, you could feel that push, you could feel that energy and that excitement. He gives you a lift and Kevin is at his best when he’s on the ball playing passes that you don’t think are even visible to play.”

Fans brutally troll Kyle Walker

However, many fans are not in the same agreement with Kyle Walker, feeling that comparing Kevin De Bruyne to the likes of Messi and Ronaldo was too much. Many felt that there were many players far better than the midfielder, and they mentioned them in the viral social media tweets.

One fan wrote that Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t even better than Zinedine Zidane, who is arguably the best midfielder of all time. Another said that even Mesut Ozil was better than him.

Another tweet said that De Bruyne is still compared to the likes of Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard. It seems much of the soccer community did not agree with Walker’s comments and has mocked him for it. In hindsight, he should not have given that much praise to De Bruyne, who may arguably be one of the best midfielders but is nowhere close to the greats of the game.

Kevin De Bruyne will now concentrate on his next game with Manchester City, which is a FA Cup 4th round fixture against Tottenham on Saturday.