In recent weeks, a man the German men's national team desperately needed, returned to the team and just 7 seconds into his first game, he showed the world and Germany a little of what he provides with a pass from the middle of the pitch for Wirtz.

 

That assist was just a little part of his game and does not in any way epitomise the essence of his football and we are starting to think perhaps, that is why Toni Kroos is not regarded among the best midfielders to ever grace this “beautiful” game of football.

 

We will explain more shortly but first, let’s take a look at some of the names people mention whenever there is talk of the GOAT midfielders.

 

Who are the GOAT Midfielders for Most People & Why?

 

Whenever you hear a group of people talk about the best midfielders the game of football has seen, you will be sure to hear names like Iniesta, Xavi, Pirlo, Zidane, and when there are English-crazed fans in there, Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard all even get a shout out.

 

Now, what about these players makes them very high on the list of football fans as the best midfielders of all time? Well as is said, the devil is in the details, or should I say, the numbers.

 

Let’s take a look at the numbers for some of these GOAT midfielders, shall we?

 

According to Transfermarkt, Andres Iniesta managed 136 assists and 57 goals for Barca in 674 games, while his partner in midfield and now coach of the same team, Xavi, got in 767 games, 185 assists and 85 goals for Barca.

 

Andrea Pirlo got 71 assists and 41 goals for AC Milan in 401 games, and 38 assists and 19 goals in 164 games for Juve, while Zinedine Zidane managed 68 assists and 49 goals for Real Madrid in 227 games, and 50 assists and 31 goals in 212 games for Juve.

 

For the English guys, Scholes got 155 goals and 82 assists for United in 716 games while Stevie G got 186 goals and 157 assists in 710 games for Liverpool.

 

Notice anything common in the goal contributions of all these legendary midfielders? The very number and volume of their goals and assists are not jokes, right?

 

Now, here is why Toni Kroos is overlooked in the GOAT Debate

 

Now, can we look at Toni’s goal contribution numbers? Kroos has 96 assists and 28 goals for Real Madrid in 455 games, and 49 assists and 24 goals for his 205 games for Bayern.

 

Not bad right? But not quite as huge as Xavi and Iniesta’s or Gerrard and Scholes is it? Zidane and Pirlo’s combined goals and assists for their two clubs are 198 and 169 respectively.

 

What you won’t notice is that Toni Kroos has a combined 197 goals and assists for Madrid and Bayern. Surprising isn’t it? But you can be forgiven for thinking Toni Kroos does produce these kinds of figures in assists and goals.

 

Who is Toni Kroos?

 

Why? Because like I said earlier, goals and assists are not the thing Toni Kroos does best. They are not the stand-out qualities and attributes of his gameplay and that is just fact.

 

According to his coach Zindane, “He is so good that he could play as a six or even as a 10. You put him in and he adapts. His main virtue is his serenity, he's calm. He's not nervous and loves reaching out to shoot from a distance as much as making a back pass."

 

According to Julian Nagelsmann: “Side-way pass Toni Kroos? Anyone who says that unfortunately has no idea about football.”

 

Pep Guardiola described him as “Someone who is always there. In that sense, he is an amateur. This means he just really likes to play football, it doesn’t matter whether it’s in the Champions League or the first round of a cup game it doesn’t matter.

 

“He can play 60 games at the top level, never injured, and always at the top for many seasons. He always wants to play. He is very intelligent and rational and very calm but in the most difficult moments, he is the bravest of all”.

 

Like Pep rightly said, the player to have dominated the passes completed, pass into the final third, long passes completed, and the pass accuracy metrics for about 7 seasons in Europe, is who Toni Kroos is and he is what a “midfielder” should be.

 

You can check out this week’s games on MSport here

It feels like now whenever Kylian Mbappe scores a goal or puts up his usual outstanding performance, it spells the end of Vinicius Junior’s time at the Spanish giants.

Mbappe scores, Vini out, Mbappe scores, Vini is out. This has got us at MSport thinking, is it the case that Mbappe and Vini cannot be at Real Madrid together?

 

The Problem, According to the Doubters

 

Before we delve into that, let’s first try to examine the argument that is currently being made by those thinking it has to be one over the other.

When you listen to their narrative, their point is that Kylian Mbappe is at his very best playing on the left and that is where Vinicius currently plays for Real Madrid so, if Mbappe comes, the left wing will have to be there for him.

That could happen in one or two ways, one, either Vini is moved to another part of the pitch, where he will not be his best, or he is sold.

That is the entire point for these naysayers. Do they have a point? Let’s find out.

 

Mbappe Might be a Winger, but….

 

Kylian Mbappe is undoubtedly a winger anyhow you look at it, on paper and from his attributes. His pace, strength, and dribbling are all things that you would expect a winger to have.

However, interestingly none of those things are what Kylian Mbappe does best. Mbappe’s best attributes are his shooting and goal-scoring but let’s put that aside for now, we will come back to it later.

So we can all agree Kylian is a winger. Now what if I told you that Mbappe has scored more goals playing as a false 9 than he has scored as a winger? Yes, he has.

According to Transfermarkt.com, Kylian Mbappe has scored 160 goals from the 181 games he has played operating from the center of the pitch, at least a 100 goals more than he has scored playing from the left wing, 60 goals from 67 games.

I know what you’re thinking, and you will be right to think it. Yes, these numbers actually mean Kylian is converting more from the right because of the goal-per-game ratio, yes, but now take a moment to consider the gap in the volume of the goals he has scored from both sides.

 

How does Mbappe Compare to Other “Traditional Wingers”?

 

The other reason why we believe Kylian Mbappe’s winger credentials are not as set in stone as many would like to believe is how he compares with other more traditional wingers, and you will understand why we say ‘traditional’ in a minute.

According to the same website, Napoli’s Georgian left winger, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia has scored 24 goals and made 23 assists from the left wing in the 80 games he has played there.

Transfermarkt.com also reports that Leroy Sane for Bayern Munich has scored 18 goals and provided 18 assists from the 81 games he has played as a left-winger.

In addition to that, he has scored 21 goals and made 23 assists from 56 games playing as a right-winger for the German side.

Away from him, Rafael Leao of AC Milan has 43 goals and 40 assists from the 144 games he’s played from the left wing.

Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has scored 30 goals and 22 assists from the right wing while Raheem Sterling has 70 goals and 41 assists from the left wing in 183 games and 43 goals and 46 assists from the right wing from 103 games for Manchester City.

Notice anything common between all these wingers? The number of assists they have are either just a few numbers lower than the goals or equal and even for some, the assists are more than the goals.

Even Vini Jr, who Mbappe should supposedly replace at the left wing, has 60 goals and 62 assists from the 211 games he has played as a left winger for Real Madrid.

The reason for the phenomenon is simple and this is it, for these ' traditional wingers’, they relish the thrill of taking on defenders and creating chaos and opportunities for their strikers than they do scoring the goals.

Now let’s look at Mbappe's assists and goals shall we? From the left wing, Kylian has 16 assists to 60 goals for PSG, while from the centre forward, he has 70 assists to 160 goals.

Can you see the difference between Mbappe’s numbers and all these other wingers?

Kylian Mbappe is a born predator that feeds on goals and that is why when you play him as the centre forward, he will score them.

 

The Real Madrid Case with Mbappe and Vini Jr

 

When you think of Mbappe at Real Madrid, think of the Vin-Zema partnership between Vini Jr, who was the deadliest left winger in the world during that period, and Karim Benzema, who was the hottest striker in the world too.

Mbappe now is Cristiano Ronaldo in the early stages of his career, but with time and with Vini Jr, he will become CR7 at the latter part of his career, which frankly was when he was his deadliest and Vini Jr will be his Benzema providing the most assists.

 

You can check out this week's games on MSport here: