Jordan Henderson has admitted Kevin De Bruyne deserved to win the PFA Players' Player of the Year award last season, revealing he voted considers the Manchester City talisman the best midfielder in the world.
The Liverpool skipper was one of the favourites for the award after captaining the Reds to a maiden Premier League title as they were crowned champions of England for the first time in 30 years.
But while his performances impressed football writers enough to see him crowned FWA Footballer of the Year, his peers considered De Bruyne more deserving as the Belgian won the PFA award.
And ahead of facing off against the midfielder when England take on Belgium in the Nations League on Sunday, Henderson insisted he had no qualms about missing out having voted for his City counterpart himself.
“I voted for Kevin in the PFA awards and couldn’t speak highly enough of him as a player," he said.
“He deservedly won PFA Player of the Year. I thought he was outstanding last season. But he’s been outstanding for a long time.
“He’s a world-class player, probably the best midfield player in the world. I feel as though he’s classy on and off the pitch.
“I’m a really big fan.”
Henderson also shared his pride at winning the FWA Footballer of the Year award, but was adamant he could not have done it without his team-mates when modestly playing down his own performances.
“I’m very honoured and proud to have won it and don’t want to take that away," he admitted.
“But I felt it was more to do with the team and what we achieved over that year. I was a very small part of that. That’s how I took the award.
“It was definitely a team effort. Without that, I wouldn’t have even been close to getting it.”
