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This article is part of Football FanCast's Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers...

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has put his allegiances to the Red Devils to one side and has praised an unsung Anfield hero.

In an interview with El Pais, the Dutchman took the bold step of comparing James Milner to two of the world’s top talents in Lionel Messi and Neymar.

What’s been said then?

When speaking to Spanish newspaper El Pais, the former Netherlands manager spoke openly about how much he rates Milner as a team player.

He said: “Look at Barcelona. How many Champion Leagues have they won with what they say is the best player in the world? Look at Neymar at PSG. How many Champions Leagues won? Neymar and Messi I like them as individual players, not as team players. I believe that in collective games there is nothing more important than the team player.

“One of the best is James Milner. In the final of the Champions League, he played as a defender and as a midfielder. It's great that he can offer that at 33.”

Big claim

This is, of course, a massive claim from the former Barcelona boss, but it is in keeping with the philosophies he tried to implement at every club he managed.

His most successful teams were built around these team players. His Ajax team had players such as Frank Rijkaard doing the dirty work that Milner does for Liverpool in the modern day, while his time at Bayern Munich saw Bastian Schweinsteiger become one of the world's greatest midfielders.

Van Gaal has always been an admirer of these players who aren't flashy but do everything they are asked to do to the best of their abilities.

To say that Messi isn’t a team player may be selling the Argentine short, but to say that Milner is one of the best at that role in Europe is pretty much spot on.

The Englishman’s versatility has allowed him to remain as a top player into his 30s, and he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down yet.

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Milner will obviously never be anywhere near Messi's level technically, but the work he does clearly hasn't gone unnoticed by one of the greatest minds in football history.