Manchester City and the Premier League are set to bid their farewell to one of the greatest ever, Kevin De Bruyne, and money cannot replace the Belgian.
Many top-notch pundits gasped at the then club-record fee of £55 million that Manchester City paid for Kevin De Bruyne, as they strongly insisted the former Chelsea man was not worth the money. In hindsight, those takes did make sense at the time, because there was barely a big sample size for the Belgian playmaker. However, in the present period, those look foolish.
Chelsea paid just over £6 million to sign De Bruyne from Genk, and the move barely paid off in the sporting sense. However, the Blues did make a healthy profit on the investment as they could ship out the Belgian for £18 million to VfL Wolfsburg.
A season and a half in the Bundesliga proved enough to convince Manchester City to fork out £55 million for the Belgian, and the rest is history. Not only does Kevin De Bruyne have a claim to be Manchester City’s greatest-ever player, but his trophy haul is proof of his influence on the team.
Remarkably, in the 2018/19 season, when Manchester City finished as winners with a 98-point haul, just a point more than Liverpool, De Bruyne only had four goal contributions that term. Before and after that campaign, he has never posted such terrible numbers, as he has been Pep Guardiola’s most important player ever.
De Bruyne announced on his social media platforms that today’s Manchester Derby was his last as a Manchester City player. The announcement only confirmed widespread reports that the soon-to-be out-of-contract player would leave the club on a Bosman move, with a host of overseas clubs eager to sign the Belgian.
Guardiola confirmed that he was involved alongside the club and Txiki Begiristain in the decision not to hand De Bruyne a new deal. In truth, the many injury issues since the treble-winning season have derailed the Belgian’s influence on the pitch, and this season’s performances for most parts when he has been fit are proof enough of that.
While Kevin De Bruyne is about to leave Manchester City after his worst season at the club, fans must forget this abysmal campaign and not tarnish the Belgian’s legacy. The veteran playmaker does have a valid shout to be Manchester City’s best-ever player, and Guardiola has bet that the club will erect a statue outside of the Etihad without a doubt in the near future.
What made De Bruyne special?
Kevin De Bruyne’s biggest strength during his long and successful career has been his ability to evolve in his style and get past the tag of being only a No.10. He came to Manchester City during a period when top clubs were reliant on a specialist No.10 player, with someone Mesut Ozil one prime example of that.
The arrival of Guardiola helped De Bruyne evolve his game from being just that as the Catalan manager helped him become a complete player in his position. The Belgian international has operated in a central role as well as a wide midfielder in a three, while his primary role with the team has been that of a creator.
His teasing balls often had some of the prominent strikers at the club tuck it away, and that aspect has not changed much despite the change in personnel in the No.9 role. Erling Haaland has more than enough goals owing to De Bruyne’s creativity in behind and has often struggled without the Belgian’s help.
More importantly, Kevin De Bruyne’s vision remains unparalleled as no other player has been as lethal as him in that aspect. He also read the game very well, and his influence in the ‘treble’ winning season probably made everyone see the playmaker at his very best.
During his time at the club, he has visibly overtaken the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany in the pecking order to be their greatest-ever footballer. A statue outside of the Etihad will be well deserved, and we will bet that will be the best of the lot in that area.
Kevin De Bruyne is irreplacable, period.
Manchester City are already linked with players like Florian Wirtz, with the German international likely to cost an exorbitant sum of money in the close season. Whether he comes to the Etihad is a question for the summer, although there will be doubts about whether he or any other player in the current market has what it takes to replace De Bruyne on the whole.
It is impossible in our opinion to find another player with even close to all the attributes of Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian playmaker is a product of excellent coaching over the years and evolving with the demands of the Premier League year after year.
De Bruyne never really looked regressed barring this season, and then too, the blame should be pinned on the injury issues. In the treble-winning season of 2022/23, the game when Manchester City went away to Arsenal, he had the poise to take the tie by its cruff and get the vital first goal out of the way.
The way he showed character in the reverse fixture against the Gunners also showed that De Bruyne was the difference between winning and not winning the title. Arsenal had Martin Odegaard in a similar role to the Belgian, but it was clear as day to see the massive difference in quality. There have been other games where he has made a difference, one other example is the trip to Stamford Bridge where he scored the winner.
At his pomp, there was no player then and none now that can come close to De Bruyne’s quality. Hence, while his time with Manchester City could be done from a sporting standpoint, they will miss his leadership and poise on the pitch, which no matter how much money they throw in the market will be impossible to replace.
De Bruyne is probably Manchester City’s greatest-ever player and comes close to occupying that position in the bigger order. While he may not top that overall chart of the Premier League, he does come close to the likes of Eric Cantona, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry in that regard. The Premier League will miss De Bruyne and his excellence on the pitch. Adieu to the classy Belgian.
