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Rio Ferdinand makes a prediction about Arsenal’s William Saliba once Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk retires

Charles Jones

Fri 6 December 2024 17:15, UK

There’s been a lot of debate recently around who the best centre-back in the world is.

Didier Drogba says Virgil van Dijk is the best centre-back in the world, while Gary Neville gave that title to William Saliba.

Saliba himself says Van Dijk is the better defender, and, at the moment, that does seem to be the common consensus.

Van Dijk has been brilliant for Liverpool for years, winning every trophy there is to win at club level.

Speaking on his podcast, Rio Ferdinand has been discussing Saliba, and he says that the defender will eventually be the best in the world in his position once Van Dijk’s run as the best in the world is over.

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William Saliba will become best in the world

Ferdinand tipped Saliba to become the world’s best defender once Van Dijk steps back.

The pundit says that Leny Yoro could rival him for that title, but he thinks the Arsenal ace will become the best around.

“I think he’s going to be the best defender in the world. Saliba will be the best defender in the world when Virgil van Dijk gives up that post. It could be in one year or it could be in three years. I don’t see anyone else taking over. The only player who could rival him is Leny Yoro,” Ferdinand said.

What Virgil van Dijk has said about William Saliba

Ferdinand thinks that Saliba will eventually take Van Dijk’s crown.

Van Dijk himself is a big fan of Saliba. In fact, he’s said that the Frenchman is better than he was at the same age.

“Yeah, maybe. You know, I think if I’m honest, when I was that age, I was nowhere near where he was today. And obviously that’s the beauty of football as well,” Van Dijk said.

“You know, I like to watch other defenders and pick up so many stuff from them. There are so many good ballplayers”

Van Dijk isn’t wrong, Saliba is way ahead of where Van Dijk was at the same age.

At the age of 23, Van Dijk was at Celtic and he hadn’t made a single international appearance.

Meanwhile, Saliba is seen as one of the best defenders in the world, and he’s playing at an elite level for one of the best teams in the world.

If Saliba continues to improve, there’s no reason why he can’t become even better than Van Dijk currently is, but, of course, reaching that level is no easy feat.

These two are a pair of the best centre-backs on the planet, that’s for sure.