Andy Robertson claims 29-year-old Aston Villa player is the smartest he’s seen on the pitch

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Andy Robertson has been building his perfect footballer.

Speaking to Goal on TikTok, the Liverpool defender has been tasked with creating the ultimate player made up of a number of attributes.

Of course, Robertson picked Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for their left and right feet respectively, but when it came to putting a footballing brain in this Frankenstein of a player, he made a very interesting choice.

The smartest player Andy Robertson has seen

Robertson made an interesting pick when choosing who has the greatest footballing IQ.

Robertson has played with some incredibly smart players over the years from Thiago Alcantara to Fabinho, but according to the left-back, John McGinn is the smartest player around.

“Speed?” Robertson was asked.

“Mbappe,” Robertson said.

“Strength?”

“Adama Traore,” Robertson said.

“Skill?”

“Hazard,” Robertson said.

“Football IQ?”

“John McGinn,” Robertson said.

John McGinn is very clever

Robertson’s shout here may be very left-field, but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense.

Let’s be honest, John McGinn isn’t blessed with the greatest physical attributes in the world, he’s not very tall, he’s not the strongest and he’s not the quickest.

But what he does have is an incredible footballing mind, he can anticipate moves way before they develop, and he’s also incredible at using his body in the right way to get the better of players who are much bigger, stronger and faster than him.

McGinn is a player that ought to have quite a minimal skillset due to his physical attributes, but, in fact, he’s an incredible player who can do almost anything on the pitch because of how smart he is both on and off the ball.

It’s a bold claim to make, but Robertson may be right, McGinn might just be one of the smartest footballers out there.