Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany has named Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk as the Premier League's best ever centre-back ahead of the Belgian's testimonial at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.
Van Dijk is the favourite for the Ballon d'Or this year ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after a sensational season which saw him inspire his side to the Champions League title and only miss out on the Premier League by the thinnest of margins to City.
When asked about who is the best to ever play in his position in the Premier League, Kompany said van Dijk's achievements mean, in his opinion, he beats even the likes of John Terry and Rio Ferdinand to the honour.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo Kompany, who has been ruled out of his own testimonial with a hamstring injury , said: "I never try to compare. My journey is different, I've had to deal with different tools and for me to not play this game, let's not escape the irony. So I've had to deal with that and I've tried to be substantial for my team.
"I would bring it back to Virgil van Dijk, he's not been on the scene as long as Terry, Ferdinand who have been around for a long time but the signs he's shown in the last few years show if he had been around longer he'd have been at the top for a long time.
"The Liverpool before van Dijk and after are a completely different set up so I'll give him that one."
Kompany's testimonial will raise money for Tackle4MCR, a homeless charity, and will feature star names from past and present such as Thierry Henry, Sergio Aguero, Robin van Persie and David Silva.
Kompany currently plays for Belgian side Anderlecht, giving up the managerial duties he had at the beginning of the season after a poor start to the campaign.
