Nesta declared Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk as the top defender in the game.
Since arriving from Southampton in 2017 for £75million, van Dijk has been central to Liverpool’s achievements.
Now 34, he continues to play a key role in Arne Slot’s setup at Anfield, having penned a fresh deal in April.
The Premier League boasts several elite centre-backs, including Arsenal’s formidable duo William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
Marc Guehi has also risen to prominence for both club and country, and is expected to attract major interest across Europe when he departs Crystal Palace at season’s end.
Italy once dominated the defensive landscape, with Nesta long regarded as one of the finest in the sport.
The ex-Italy star consistently performed at a high level throughout his career and has admired van Dijk’s ability to do the same, calling him the standout defender in today’s game.
‘For me, now van Dijk is the best,’ Nesta said. ‘The best, because he performs every year at the same level. He plays in the Premier League, the biggest league in the world, for me, and toughest so for me he is the best.’
Italian clubs have faced challenges in matching the financial power of the Premier League, with no Serie A team lifting the Champions League trophy since Inter’s win in 2010.
Nesta attributes this shift to changes in club ownership across Italy.
‘In Italy, the league is changing. Before 10 years ago, there was the richest families controlling clubs in Italy, he said.
‘They spent a lot of money to improve the teams and to buy the best players in the world. In this moment, we have proposals from the USA, they come to Italy just to have for business. It is different.
‘Different and years ago when Serie A was the best league in the world. for me, we did not build something stronger.
‘Now without the big money, from the Italian families, the Premier League is killing us.’
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