Kevin De Bruyne has had his say and ranked Bruno Fernandes, Martin Odegaard and James Maddison in order of who he thinks is the best creative midfielder.

The Manchester City player made an appearance on Sky Sports Premier League to rank a number of topics from 1-3. He is currently out for the foreseeable future after suffering a horrific injury on the first day of the season.

Ranking the most inventive midfielders—a position De Bruyne occupies in the video—was the most intriguing question De Bruyne was asked to answer. The video also discusses future Ballon d’Or winners, stadium ambiance, and teammate hairstyles.

De Bruyne had to decide between Fernandes, Odegaard, and Maddison during the event, which was moderated by Joe Thomlinson of Football Daily. The decision produced some intriguing outcomes.

But how did he rank them? Well, it’s time to find out.

3. James Maddison

Surprisingly, De Bruyne made his decision very swiftly, quickly placing Maddison at the bottom of his ranking. The former Leicester City player, who has long been among the greatest attacking midfielders in England, has adapted quickly to life at Tottenham Hotspur after joining Ange Postecoglou’s squad in the summer.

The Englishman has De Bruyne impressed, but he has to play with a bigger club before he can confidently place him over the other two midfielders on the list.

Explaining his reasoning, he said: “Maddison is also really creative, but I need to see more of him in a big team, so that can change, so that’s why I put [him as] the number three.”

If his first couple of appearances for Spurs are anything to go by, Maddison is wasting no time proving he can certainly perform for one of England’s biggest clubs.

2. Martin Odegaard

After a little more deliberating between the top two, the City star eventually put Odegaard second on his list. The Arsenal man has been an absolute bargain of a buy considering the club spent just £30m on his services a couple of years ago.

Last season in particular, he took a real step forward and played a huge role in the Gunners mounting their first real title challenge in quite some time.

With 15 goals and eight assists last campaign, he enjoyed the best season of his career, but he is much younger than Fernandes, something De Bruyne took into account.

He explained as much, saying: “I feel Odegaard was amazing last year, but obviously he’s younger, so there’s a difference in that.”

That didn’t stop him piling the praise on the Norwegian though, saying: “Odegaard is very creative and he’s a little more controlled.”

1. Bruno Fernandes

It seems De Bruyne is a huge fan of Fernandes, and rightfully so. The Portuguese star has been nothing short of magnificent since joining Manchester United in January 2020.

He’s largely been the club’s most important and influential player over the last three years, even in some of its worst periods. With at least 15 goal contributions in every season he’s spent at Old Trafford, there’s no denying how impactful Fernandes is offensively for United and there are few creative midfielders who can match his output.

This is something De Bruyne recognises and played a role in his decision. When asked about why he put the United man at number one, the 32-year-old said: “I think he’s a creative machine.

“I think he’s always there. He takes a lot of risks also, and I like it. Obviously, he’s been doing so well.”

He also touched upon how long Fernandes had been churning out high-quality performances in the top flight, saying: “He’s also been doing it a long time.”

All three players are absolutely top-class, though, so there’s likely no real wrong or right answer. With De Bruyne’s credentials, though, we won’t be arguing with him anytime soon.