With Manchester City (for two separate spells), Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, New York Red Bulls, and Phoenix Rising all on his resume, it is safe to say that Shaun Wright-Phillips has seen his fair share of football talent around the world.
And when it comes to selecting the very best of them, the Manchester City legend certainly has high standards. Wright-Phillips regards fellow former England international, Ashley Cole, as his toughest opponent — as he revealed in the latest, upcoming episode of SuperSport Unplugged.
Wright-Phillips sat down for a chat as SuperSport Unplugged went outdoors for the very first time where Table Mountain in Cape Town served as a beautiful backdrop while the Englishman shared fascinating insights.
As a Manchester City club ambassador, Wright-Phillips was in Cape Town for the final leg of the “Treble Trophy Tour” – a global parade of the Sky Blues’ Uefa Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup trophies that they collected during their historic treble-winning 2022/23 season, along with Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup trophies won in the subsequent competitions they took part in as European champions.
With Table Mountain as the backdrop and the impressive trophy collection on display, the conversation led to Wright-Phillips being asked what he thinks of South African football talent. He then revealed his high regard for an Orlando Pirates midfielder.
The Englishman ended his professional football career with Phoenix Rising in the USA where he shared the locker room with current Buccaneer, Miguel Timm.
Wright-Phillips believes the Sea Robbers’ player could have excelled had he plied his trade in English football saying “I’m surprised he never played in England or anywhere higher.”
Manchester City legend, Shaun Wright-Phillips, has high praise for an @orlandopirates star ☠️
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 21, 2024
The 𝙁𝙐𝙇𝙇 SuperSport Unplugged episode drops soon! pic.twitter.com/lwAA7d1vgH
While skill and fitness play an enormous part in the make-up of a footballer, Wright-Phillips highlighted an attribute that Timm has over other players – his football IQ – which the former Manchester City star says is “incredible”.
The full episode of SuperSport Unplugged with Shaun Wright-Phillips premieres in the coming days on the SuperSport YouTube channel.