Bail out
Leon Bailey is ready to take over from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as best player in the world, says agent
Bailey's agent took a thinly-veiled dig at Steven Gerrard
LEON BAILEY is ready to take over from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the best footballer in the world!
That's the opinion of his adopted father and agent, Craig Butler, who insists Aston Villa fans are in for a treat after Bailey signed a new long-term contract last month.
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Butler reckons by the time his current deal expires in 2028, Bailey will have proved himself the best player on the planet.
Speaking on the 'Up The Villa Podcast,' Butler claimed: "There is so much more to come. I don't think Leon has hit 40% of his potential yet.
"You've only seen 40 per cent of what Leon can do. It's about the timing, I believe that one day he will be the best player in the world.
"He'll keep getting better and better and one day he will be regarded as the best player in the world.
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"Messi is getting older, Cristiano's getting older, Neymar has injury problems and is getting older, [Kylian] Mbappe as well.
"Leon has no cap on his potential. You've not seen anything yet."
Bailey has scored 12 goals for Villa and provided 10 assists this season as the Jamaican international finally begins to show his true potential.
Butler says Bailey, like the rest of Villa's squad, are benefitting from working under football genius, Unai Emery.
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And, in a thinly veiled dig at Steven Gerrard, he says it's no surprise the winger is flourishing as Emery chases a top four finish and Uefa Conference League success.
"Unai has faith in him, he's given him freedom to express himself," he said.
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"The coach has faith in the player. He's allowed him to be who he is.
"And when you have that kind of faith in a player he will deliver, especially when that player has the goods.
"If you give him that freedom to express himself, if the club believes in him and his teammates believe in him, he's always going to deliver. Always!
"We made the choice to go to Villa and we've seen Villa go through changes.
"The first thing was they sacked the coach (Dean Smith) that brought him there. And then Steven Gerrard came on.
"I always say coaches coach to their strengths and Gerrard was a hard-working central midfielder.
"He was not a winger, he didn't understand the concepts of playing creative, attacking football. He understood hard work.
"I don't think Gerrad used wingers when he was there as a coach. He played all midfielders and Leon was stripped of his creative duties.
"When Unai came in I was very happy because he is a creative coach and he gives players freedom.
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"So when everyone was saying Leon is not a good player, he has flopped, he's not doing well. I still stood by him because I knew who he was and what he could do.
"I knew he would deliver soon enough, if given the right chances."
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