Arsenal legend Thierry Henry named the most brilliant ever footballer he ever saw on a pitch as he snubbed his former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi.

Henry always showed respect to Lionel Messi who he considers as the greatest of all time.

However, the 1998 World Champion hailed Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne as the most intelligent player he has ever seen following the Belgian’s display against Real Madrid on Tuesday night.

De Bruyne netted a magnificent equalizer for the Skyblues at the Santiago Bernabéu and but his global performance was a joy to watch for Henry.

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“I still think he’s the most important player in this team,” Henry told CBS Sports after the match.

“I’ve come across a lot of players, played with a lot of players, saw a lot of players, played against some of the greatest. I think Kevin, his brain is the best I’ve ever seen, the way he sees the game. Because his brain is in some places, I don’t know what he thinks about sometimes, you look at him and it’s almost like he’s not with us because he’s that good.

“Sometimes it can be a problem because you’re not on his level, but I think he’s the most clever player I’ve seen in my life. It’s just second to none, the way he thinks. Because I saw him for six years on and off with Belgium, you love the man a bit more, because I saw stuff he did in training and in games.

“He’s unbelievable. His brain, I’m still thinking about some stuff I’ve seen, he’s on a different planet and it wasn’t his best game tonight, but he delivered.”