Scott Sinclair’s Perfect XI

The Celtic winger played with a plethora of star names at Chelsea and Manchester City, from Arjen Robben to Sergio Aguero, but none were quite as fearsome as Scott Brown

THE GAFFER

BRENDAN RODGERS “It has to be Brendan or Jose Mourinho. I’ve picked Brendan as he’s been instrumental in my career – he took me to Swansea, then Celtic, and I’ve enjoyed my time so much with both clubs.”

THE SUBS

01 RYAN BERTRAND 02 AARON RAMSEY 03 DANIEL STURRIDGE

JOE HART

“Even though Joe’s been through a bad time lately with everybody judging him, he was in the best form of his life when I was at Manchester City. I still think he’s a fantastic shot-stopper now and a great goalkeeper all round. He was voted one of the top three keepers in world football during my time at the club.”

MICAH RICHARDS

“I played alongside Micah at City when he was in the peak form of his career. He was a powerhouse, and always getting forward from right-back. He was just so strong – whenever I trained with him, he was difficult to get past.”

JOHN TERRY

“He helped me a lot when I was young, coming from the Chelsea youth system when I was 16 or 17. John always looked out for all the youngsters at Chelsea and was a brilliant captain. You only need to look at the accolades he won during his career, too. He was such a great player.”

VINCENT KOMPANY

“Like Terry, another centre-back who was a great captain of a club I played for. He was a leader at City. Vincent is so strong, and has very good technique on the ball for a big defender.”

ASHLEY COLE

“My left-back has to be Ashley, that’s an easy decision! [Laughs] He really helped me when I was at Chelsea. He was so good going forward, and another player who was tough to beat when you tried to attack him in training. Most of the time you’d be chasing him back!”

GYLFI SIGURDSSON

“I was a team-mate of his at Swansea – he gave me loads of assists so I loved him! Technically, Gylfi is extremely good, and he has a brilliant free-kick on him, too. Off the pitch, he was a good friend of mine.”

SCOTT BROWN

“It’s so tough to put this team together. I played with some fantastic midfielders, like Aaron Ramsey for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics and Frank Lampard, that I haven’t been able to get in. If I’m going to pick a Celtic player, Scott Brown is the one – he’d just go round smashing everyone! [Laughs] No, I’m only kidding, Scott [below] is a crucial player for Celtic and a great club captain.”

DAVID SILVA

“Silva has to be in as well, easy! He’s an unbelievable player and never gives the ball away. He always likes to get on the ball and make cute passes through the defence that creates opportunities. He’s such a technically gifted player.”

ARJEN ROBBEN

“Arjen was a player I really looked up to at Chelsea. I was able to see how good he was, and I learned a lot from him. He was so quick on the ball, very sharp, and a brilliant finisher.”

SERGIO AGUERO

“There’s no better striker than Sergio, to be honest. It’s the way he gets himself into positions, his finishing, his scoring record... What you want from a striker is goals, and he produces that every year.”

RYAN GIGGS

“Can I pick people I played with at the 2012 Olympics? I’d have to choose Ryan, then. Everyone knows what he was all about – what a footballer. He gave me some fantastic advice when I played with him, too.”

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