Ilkay Gundogan picks Liverpool star over Neymar and Harry Kane after Man City experiences

Ilkay Gundogan has given serious recognition to one of the stars of the Liverpool team. The Germany international has tipped the Reds ace over both Neymar and Harry Kane.

Now at Barcelona, Gundogan had a long-time rivalry with Liverpool during his Manchester City stint. Both sides came out of those encounters with bloodied noses at one point or another, and the mutual respect is generally clear.

Certainly, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have repeatedly exchanged compliments. And it seems that extends to the players as well, with Gundogan holding Mohamed Salah in high regard.

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Adrian snubs contract, Xavi Simons hint, Joshua Kimmich race

READ MORE: Barcelona has clear Luis Diaz plan that could help Liverpool land Nico Williams transfer

Currently starring at the Euros with Germany, Gundogan was asked to pick 'who's best' out of a number of player comparisons (via TikTok). It was a 'winner stays on' format, and the midfielder eventually reached Salah.

Neymar had already unseated Vinicius Jr when he came up against Salah. While it was clearly a tough one for Gundogan, he eventually opted for the Liverpool man.

There was then no hesitation at all when asked to pick between Salah and Kane. The Egyptian stayed on.

The man to unseat Salah was Kevin De Bruyne, Gundogan's former Manchester City teammate. Even then, it was a close-run thing.

Gundogan exhaled, before remarking "you've put me on the spot here". But he plumped for De Bruyne over Salah.

De Bruyne then beat both Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. He was finally beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo, with Gundogan acknowledging he should 'probably' pick the Portuguese star in light of his status as a 'legend'.

Liverpool.com says: The criteria for these comparisons, and Gundogan's answers, are anyone's guess. It was a bit of a random selection.

Even so, choosing Salah over Neymar and Kane gives an indication of how highly Gundogan rates the Liverpool star. In the Premier League for a long time, he knows all about Kane's scoring exploits, but he wasted no time in going for Salah.

The hesitation when picking De Bruyne was also pretty telling. After all, he holds his old midfield colleague in even higher esteem than Mbappe, and yet he seemed reluctant to pick between him and Salah.

Ultimately, it's just a bit of fun. But it's a reminder that Liverpool has been lucky to have a genuine superstar on its hands over the last few years, in the conversation among the greats of the modern game.