Manchester United prospect Zidane Iqbal picked out Liverpool virtuoso Thiago as he unveiled three players who have inspired him over the years.
Iqbal, a 19-year-old central midfielder, made his senior Red Devils debut last year when he came off the bench in a Champions League fixture against Young Boys. He has been named on the bench for numerous Premier League and Europa League games this season, although all of his appearances have come for the youth sides.
Understandably, Iqbal's main inspirations are those who have played in his position, in the past and present day. Alongside Thiago, whom he described as "beautiful to watch", the teenager chose Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane and Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong as the footballers he looks up to.
"When I was young, my dad used to put a lot of YouTube videos of Zinedine Zidane on at home," Iqbal told GQ Middle East. "Now, I look up to Frenkie de Jong, I think he's a brilliant player. And Thiago from Liverpool. I know he's playing for Liverpool but you can still respect another person and how they play - he's beautiful to watch."
While Zidane is regarded as one of the greatest players in history, Thiago and De Jong are among the leading central midfielders in the game today. The Spaniard has won countless honours with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and the Reds, while the latter burst onto the scene with Ajax to earn a £65million transfer to Camp Nou in 2019.
Iqbal will hope to emulate the success of his idols in the future, and he previously named former Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil as another one of his inspirations. The youngster, who was born in Manchester to a Pakistani father and Iraqi mother, told the Football Association, per United's website : "Mesut Ozil, because he's a Muslim like me. Just seeing another Muslim footballer is a good thing.
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"The journey is different for everyone, and I can tell you it's not easy. It's like a rollercoaster, up and down. You just have to enjoy the ride and whatever's meant to be is meant to be."
"I come from such a hard-working family," he added. "My parents are always working hard, my brother, my grandparents. When we came to this country, they all inspired me to give my best at everything I do."
This season, Iqbal has made four appearances for United's youth sides - two in Premier League 2 and two in the EFL Trophy. He was on the bench on Thursday night as Alejandro Garnacho fired the Red Devils to a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad.
