Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher put club loyalties to one side as he included former Manchester United captain Roy Keane in his stunning all-time Premier League midfield.
The duo, who work together as pundits for Sky Sports, lined up on opposite sides in many a fiery North-West Derby until Keane left United under a cloud in 2005. The Irishman won seven Premier League titles with the Red Devils, the FA Cup on four occasions and the Champions League as part of the continental treble in 1999.
Keane was renowned for his dominant, hard-hitting displays, and Carragher chose him at the base of his ultimate Premier League midfield. To either side of the formed United skipper, the Anfield icon selected former teammate Steven Gerrard and Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne.
Like Keane, Gerrard was an inspirational leader and, even though he never lifted the Premier League title, many regard him as one of the greatest and most-complete English footballers of his generation. Carragher rounded off his trio by selecting De Bruyne, who struggled during a brief spell with Chelsea but has established himself as one of the greatest players in the world during his glittering stint at the Etihad Stadium.
The Belgian, 31, is just five away from reaching an astonishing century of assists in the Premier League and is hoping to steer City to their fifth top-flight title in six years this season. De Bruyne is sure to be at the centre of the action when the Sky Blues travel to Anfield for a titanic encounter on Sunday afternoon, with Carragher claiming he is "on the verge of being recognised as the greatest midfielder in Premier League history".
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the former centre-back name-dropped a number of midfield icons to have graced the English top-flight over the last few decades, pointing out that the Champions League continues to evade De Bruyne.
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"De Bruyne belongs alongside Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, Yaya Toure, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes as the most celebrated Premier League midfielders, but he still needs to fill a gap in his CV to cement a position as the number one," Carragher said. "The greatest players have either won the Champions League or dominated a World Cup."
The Merseyside native added: "If I was to choose an all-time Premier League XI, De Bruyne and Gerrard would be in my midfield alongside Keane."
Setting a challenge to the City creator-in-chief, Carragher claimed De Bruyne needs a "career-defining" night - similar to Keane and Gerrard's heroics against Juventus in 1999 and in the 2005 Champions League final respectively - to establish himself as the greatest midfielder to have played in the Premier League.
