"Cristiano Ronaldo is from England?", "Shade on Salah" - Fans slam Carragher as he says Manchester City star is second best foreign PL player

By Abel Yisa

Modified Apr 06, 2025 23:31 GMT

Jamie Carragher names Manchester City midfielder as his second best foreign Premier League player

Football fans on social media have reacted after Jamie Carragher named Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne as his second-best foreign player in the Premier League. Carragher added that while Thierry Henry is the best Premier League foreign player, De Bruyne comes second.

The Englishman also claimed that De Bruyne has been the best player in the Premier League in the last four to five years. Thus, the Manchester City midfielder will get into his all-time preferred Premier League starting XI.

Watch the video below (via Sky Sports Premier on X):

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However, Carragher's decision to pick De Bruyne ahead of Mohamed Salah and Cristiano Ronaldo sparked reactions on social media. Thus, fans took to X to comment on Carragher's choice, with one tweeting:

"Chtistiano Ronaldo is from England?."

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"Ronaldo plays golf," another fan sarcastically added.

"Meaning they’re better than Ronaldo? @Carra23 the hate is getting old.," another user commented.

"Ronaldo, Cantona, Toure, Kante, Makelele, Keane, Vieira, Suarez 🤮, Silva, Aguero to name a few.," another netizen posted.

"What about Eden Hazard? Or Mo Salah? KDB has been phenomenal but not that much to be 2nd of all time," another user suggested.

"More shade on Salah 😂," wrote another.

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Meanwhile, CR7 was a remarkable forward during his playing days at Old Trafford. Ronaldo also won the 2008 Ballon d’Or title as a Red Devil.

In two stints, Ronaldo scored 145 goals and 64 assists in 346 games during his playing days at Manchester United. On the other hand, Salah has also been one of the most efficient attackers in the Premier League in recent times.

In 394 appearances, the Egyptian has bagged 243 goals and provided 110 assists for Liverpool. Salah is close to adding another silverware to his name as Liverpool are at the top of the Premier League 2024-25 standings.

How has Kevin De Bruyne performed since joining Manchester City amid Jamie Carragher's praise?

Manchester United FC v Manchester City FC - Premier League - Source: Getty

In the last six years, one player who has helped Manchester City win trophies is Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder has also been the brains behind City's intuition in attack.

Despite that, his primary role on the pitch is to create attacking opportunities, De Bruyne has also been a decent finisher. In 414 games for Manchester City, the Belgian midfielder maestro has netted 106 goals and 176 assists.

In City's all-time highest scorers chart, De Bruyne is ranked seventh. He has also been named the Premier League's player of the season twice (2019-20 and 2021-22). While he is set to leave Manchester City and the end of the 2024-25 season, he remains one of their most successful midfielders in history.

About the author

Abel is an European football journalist who focuses primarily on analysis pieces and preview copies at Sportskeeda. A B.Sc degree holder in Economics, he has a previous work experience of 3 years – a year at Opera News Hub where he was promoted as a 'Verified Sports Writer,’ and over two years at Sportskeeda as a revenue-share writer, where his writing skills have ultimately led him to be integrated into the in-house team.

A Manchester United fan who grew up in a family of Red Devils supporters, he started his journey as an ardent football fan in his childhood. He used to spend hours watching the sport with his family and developed a knack for writing about the beautiful game over the years.

He is a huge admirer of Paul Pogba owing to the midfielder's ability to thread passes from anywhere on the pitch and his favorite manager is Jose Mourinho due to the Portuguese's tactical mind. He feels France's triumph in 2018 is his all-time favorite World Cup moment, and reckons Lamine Yamal and Endrick could replicate the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Abel always strives to verify information, especially statistics, before penning a word and offers constructive but not defamatory criticisms. Apart from Europe's top five leagues, he follows the Eredivisie and the Primeira Liga. He loves to spend his free time playing video games like EA FC and watching movies.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer