So why did you let him go then? New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says there is no quarterback he'd rather have than Tom Brady - a year after star moved to Tampa Bay

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says NFL champ Tom Brady would be his top quarterback pick – despite releasing the legendary player to Tampa Bay last year.

‘There’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady,’ Belichick said during a Thursday press conference.

‘I was very lucky to have Tom as the quarterback and to coach him. He was as good as any coach could ever ask for.’

New Englands Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said Tom Brady is the 'best quarterback out there,' as he prepares to face off against Brady for the first time since he joined Tampa Bay

Brady played for the Patriots for 20 years and led the team to six Super Bowl wins 

Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner, spent 20 years playing for the New England Patriots before signing last year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He’ll face off against his old team for the first time Sunday.

It’s not clear why he left he left the team last March, but an upcoming book about the unravelling of New England’s dynasty sheds light on his shocking departure.

Author Seth Wickersham also claims in his book, 'It's Better to Be Feared', that Belichick thought quarterback Tom Brady was past his prime in New England before the future Hall of Famer signed with Tampa Bay and won his seventh Super Bowl last season.

The pair are seen celebrating a win against the Atlanta Falcons during the 2015 Super Bowl

The Patriots have not been doing so well without their star player; they were outplayed by the New Orleans Saints in a 28-13 game on Sunday.

Next Sunday’s highly-anticipated game will be hosted by the Patriots in its Foxborough, Massachusetts home stadium.

And although it’ll be Brady’s first time returning to the stadium since he played for the Patriots, he said this won’t be a time to get nostalgic.

‘I’ll have plenty of opportunities to reminisce about my football career, none of which I care to do right now because I’m so much in the moment,’ Brady said in a SiriusXM podcast.

Brady returns to the Foxborough stadium Sunday to play on the opposite side of the line

‘I’m not going to be thinking of 20 years of history. I’m going to be thinking of about one night of football, a Sunday night game where the Patriots coming off a really tough loss,' Brady said.

‘Both teams are going to be fighting and clawing for a win.’

Brady, 44, credited his athletic growth to his former coach Belichick in ‘Man in the Arena: Tom Brady,’ a new ESPN+ docuseries.

Although Bill Belichick reportedly thought Tom Brady was done, the quarterback went on to win a record seventh NFL title as a member of the Buccaneers last season

He said the 69-year-old coach helped him become the unstoppable player he is today.

‘Even today I look at some of these young players and they're like, “What do you think of this guy in his third year or fourth year?” And in my mind I'm thinking, 'Okay, he's talented but who's gonna teach him how to evolve and grow? Who's gonna assist him in his learning of what football is all about? What his knowledge is,”’ Brady said.

‘I had coach Belichick there to teach me. Every Tuesday we would meet and go through the entire defensive starting lineup, and their strengths and weaknesses. What we could attack, what he was watching and how I could see the things that he saw so I could gain confidence and anticipate.’