Wes Brown believes his Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs is the best player ever, above Diego Maradona and Pelé.
At 36 Giggs is still going strong after making his debut for the club in the 1990-91 season. And United's record appearance holder, with 838 matches, is getting ready for another run-out on the tour of the United States on Wednesday against Philadelphia Union.
When asked who was his favourite footballer of all time, Brown responded: "I know it is going to sound daft this but I would have to say Giggsy. Of course, you have got the likes of Maradona and Pelé who were world-class players, but for me it is Giggsy. His overall game and his achievements are just incredible.
"You get one-offs every now and again and he's certainly one of them. To have performed consistently well at the top level for such a long time and stayed with one team is amazing. It is difficult to think of anyone else like Ryan; Sir Bobby [Charlton] is probably the only other player to compare with Giggsy."
Meanwhile Brown says he would welcome the introduction of goal-line technology. Brown believes the authorities have to act following Frank Lampard's disallowed effort for England during the World Cup in South Africa.
"I think it has to be brought in for the goal line," Brown told manutd.com. "I was as disappointed as everyone else when I saw Frank's effort disallowed against Germany. The ball was so far over it was incredible. It would only take a few seconds to check whether the ball had gone over. It works well in tennis and I think it would be a great addition to our game."
Brown arrived in Philadelphia from Toronto with the rest of the 22-man squad following the victory against Celtic on Friday. Despite searing humidity the players have had to endure double training sessions as they prepare to meet a Union side who are making progress after a difficult start in this, their first season in MLS.
They ended Toronto's eight-match unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory on Saturday thanks to Frenchman Sébastien Le Toux's stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot. That followed the defeat of Neil Lennon's Celtic in midweek and coach Peter Nowak said: "You can see that we are getting better. The players are getting smarter. Especially the young kids. This is still a work in progress. We just need to keep making adjustments and concentrate on moving forward."