The England international has pieced together a star-studded side made up of players he has played with, against and he holds in the highest regard
Daniel Sturridge has pieced together an iconic Ultimate XI made up of star turns from past and present, although he admits his team would “probably lose”.
Over the course of his career, the 28-year-old has been fortunate to play with and against some of the finest talent in world football, while also operating in an era which has produced some all-time greats.
Real Madrid 14/5 to win La Liga
Article continues below
Editors' Picks
Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over
Sturridge has pulled together a heady mix of players from those categories when asked to draw up his greatest team.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, who is now at Arsenal, is given the nod between the sticks for being “incredible”.
Another of Sturridge’s former team-mates at Stamford Bridge, Ashley Cole, is considered to be “the best left-back of all-time”.
John Terry is selected on the basis of having “won everything with Chelsea”, while a powerful centre-back pairing is made up of Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany and Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian star Thiago Silva.
The only Liverpool connection within Sturridge’s selection sees Steven Gerrard included in midfield, with the Anfield legend “a striker’s dream who can pick a pass out from 40-50 yards”.
He is partnered by Italy icon Andrea Pirlo and his “out of this world passing ability”, with the World Cup winner having recently announced his retirement from the professional ranks.
Didier Drogba is billed as “ridiculous, as target men go he was unstoppable”, while he is joined in attack by Nicolas Anelka, who was “so elegant on the pitch”.
Lionel Messi sees his “outrageous” talent acknowledged, while a very attack-minded side is completed by Sturridge’s most controversial selection.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s place in the history books is already secured, but the Real Madrid forward is a former favourite at Liverpool’s arch-rivals Manchester United.
“There will be a lot of Liverpool fans out there thinking, ‘really, Daniel, you’re going to put a United player in there’, but you’ve got to respect someone’s ability and what they have done for the club,” Sturridge told Liverpool’s official YouTube channel.
“He’s done a lot for football, broke barriers.”
Sturridge’s team should have no problem scoring goals, given the wealth of talent at their disposal in that department, but the Reds striker concedes that they may struggle if they ever took in a competitive fixture.
He added: “I know my four strikers aren’t going to defend so in a 4-2-4 formation we’ll probably lose!”