Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has said Bruno Fernandes deserves to be in the Ballon d’Or conversation.
Pogba made the remarks while assessing Fernandes’ performances despite United’s inconsistent campaign.
Fernandes is close to the Premier League single-season assists record and is among the fastest players in the club’s history to reach 200 goal contributions.
Pogba said the midfielder’s impact would be more widely recognised in a stronger team.
He said: “Do you think Bruno, if he’s in the other team, he’s not in the top three, a Ballon d’Or player?
“You put him in City, he’s [in the] Ballon d’Or [top] three, he’s in the Ballon d’Or.
“Bruno Fernandes, with the stats, the season, the way he plays and everything, but when you don’t win, you don’t think about you, it’s not. It’s like, this is life, this is football.”
He added that Fernandes offers a complete midfield profile.
He said: “I know he’s not physically the same as me but he cannot jump and recover the ball as I would do, but he can do everything.
“He can do everything. Like I said, Bruno Fernandes, in other big clubs, is in the top three Ballon d’Or, punto final.”
Pogba compared Fernandes with other top midfielders.
He said: “For me, as a midfielder, we talk about Kevin De Bruyne.
“We talk about Modric, talk about Ozil and stuff like that.
“Talk about stats, stats.
“I think he came as a midfielder.
“He scored more than Lampard in the season, as the same position, eight, 10.
“He does more assists.
“He’s everywhere on the pitch.
“He has a volume.
“He keeps running.
