De Bruyne is a player that has defined what a modern footballer can produce. A combination of a supernatural passing range, relentless work ethic, and tactical intelligence, he has become not only one of the greatest midfielders of the Premier League era, but one of the most influential players of a generation.  

In a majestic decade of remarkable achievement at the Etihad, it has so often been De Bruyne that has been the conductor of our symphony of success. 

He’s won everything in England in multiples. Six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups, three Community Shields - and finally, the elusive Champions League crown. But along with those trophies, it’s the way he has played that has left an imprint. 

And as we say a sad farewell, we celebrate his astonishing contribution to our fantastic Club. A strawberry blonde who helped keep Manchester blue, and kept the silverware rolling in. 

When Manchester City brought De Bruyne back to England in 2015, eyebrows were raised. He had moved to Chelsea as a young player, but opportunities were fewer at Stamford Bridge. But despite rebuilding his reputation on loan at Werder Bremen and then in Wolfsburg, the consensus in English media circles was divided.  

For the past decade, footballing personalities Phil Thompson and Paul Merson were haunted by a discussion of his imminent arrival.  

“He’s a good player but is he a great player in the respect of what he’s done and where he’s played? Wolfsburg are a good team and they’ve got into the Champions League but come on,” the former Liverpool defender said.  

Merson added: “There’s players you see and you think yeah, but I just don’t see it.” 

Fortunately there were people at City who could see that he had become one of the most complete attacking midfielders on the continent and director of football Txiki Begiristain appreciated what he would bring to City and made the leap to sign him in the summer of 2015. 

In a stellar campaign when he took Wolfsburg to second behind Guardiola’s brilliant Bayern Munich, he was named Bundesliga Premier League Player of the Year in 2014/15, winning more than half the votes ahead of Arjen Robben and Manuel Neuer after scoring 10 goals and registering a German league record 21 assists.  

De Bruyne wasn’t fuelled to prove the doubters wrong, it was just a happy biproduct of a desire to be successful and he soon got on with the job.  

In his debut season under Manuel Pellegrini, he was a bright spark in a City side transitioning from Roberto Mancini's successful approach to Guardiola's philosophy still to come, via the popular Chilean coach. 

A title challenge never really gained momentum but the season highlight came in the League Cup when we beat Liverpool in a penalty shootout.  

De Bruyne gave a new dimension to our attack, with 29 goal contributions – 16 goals and 13 assists, as he quickly readapted to English football’s tempo. 

In Europe, he was instrumental in our run to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time.  

He scored in both legs against Paris Saint-Germain – with a brilliant 25-yard strike at the Etihad - although we were to be narrowly pipped by Real Madrid by a single goal over two legs in the last-four. 

A wonderful midfield that already boasted the metronomic majesty of David Silva, the power and precision of Yaya Toure and the stealthy guile of Fernandinho had another weapon in its armoury. 

De Bruyne wasn't yet the finished product, but his first season primed the canvas: intelligent movement, dynamic passing, and an ability to produce big moments on big stages – the Premier League and Europe held no fear for an artist to display his creativity. And with Pellegrini making way for the arrival of Guardiola, De Bruyne was to meet an old master that would give him the freedom and the tools to show off his flair and creativity.  

"I think the way we try to play now is very enjoyable, especially for the attacking players, because we try to play nice football, the way we want to play,” he said after the Manchester derby victory at Old Trafford in 2016 as the transformation gathered pace. 

"I think maybe for some guys it's a new beginning. We have got to go a little bit away from the physical game in the Premier League, because we are not as strong as other teams. We know that, so we try to dominate them with the way we want to play." 

The transition wasn’t completely seamless. Guardiola experimented, sometimes playing De Bruyne deeper or out wide and the players had to adjust to new demands - pressing intensity, positional discipline, and rapid ball circulation. 

Ever the student, De Bruyne adapted, working even harder, learning to read space more clinically, pressing with more purpose, dictating and becoming the brain of the team.

In the 2017/18 season, De Bruyne fully embodied Guardiola’s philosophy and roamed the danger zones with devastating effect. He played more passes, ran more miles, and impacted more phases of play than ever before.

"Kevin is one of the best players I've ever seen in my life,” Guardiola reflected. “We are so proud and so happy he is with us." 

Oppositions had no way of stopping De Bruyne – he was no longer just adapting; he was evolving and City were on the cusp of the most dominant era in our history as we set new records and reached new heights. 

In that season, City reached 100 points - the first and only "Centurions" in English football history - and maybe the greatest season of all time. And De Bruyne was at the centre of it. He played 52 games across all competitions, scored 12 goals, and contributed a staggering 21 assists. Week after week, he delivered performances that married physical power with creative finesse. 

The seasons that followed only cemented his status as a master creator as City made more history as the first English team to win all four domestic trophies available. 

In 2019/20, despite City finishing second, De Bruyne equalled Thierry Henry’s single-season assist record with 20 in the Premier League. His ever-combative sprit meant that he was annoyed that an assist was chalked off for a slight touch by David Luiz in a win over Arsenal.  

He also added 13 goals, becoming the first player in City history to win the PFA Player of the Year award and would win it again in 2020/21 as we returned to the top of the table.

He shone bright in Europe, too. In City’s long road to Champions League glory, De Bruyne was often the standout. Goals against Real Madrid, PSG, and Dortmund showcased his knack for big moments. Defeats to Monaco, Spurs, Liverpool were hard to take. And the 2021 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea would be even more painful in every sense. He suffered a fractured eye socket and concussion and it was tough to watch him leave the pitch in such discomfort. 

When City finally lifted the Champions League trophy in 2023, completing a historic Treble, it felt like validation. De Bruyne had been central to the journey, not just as a player but as a leader.  

An equaliser at Real Madrid in a semi-final first leg was both iconic and emotional as we set up an astonishing second leg at the Etihad. In one of the great European performances ever by an English side, City pulled apart the star-studded Spanish giants with De Bruyne claiming two assists in a 4-0 triumph. 

The Belgian had been playing through the pain of a hamstring injury which finally became too much in the first half of that unforgettable night in Istanbul when we beat Inter 1-0 to finally claim the Champions League trophy. 

Relief and pure joy mixed as many tears fell around the Ataturk Stadium. De Bruyne and Guardiola embraced after the final whistle to celebrate the fulfilment of an astonishing time together that would see them both seal their legacy not just at City but around the world. "We did it!" Pep said to him. "We did it!" 

But while the Champions League may be the pinnacle of success, fortune can often play a part in cup success or going close in Europe. The league is where Guardiola says the real judgment of who is the best side, and it was there where De Bruyne’s consistent brilliance helped us remain at the top, becoming the first men’s team ever to win four successive Premier League titles. 

Statistically, he broke into the Premier League’s all-time assist charts and finished only second behind Ryan Giggs, although he played fewer than half as many matches. 

But what separates De Bruyne from other great midfielders isn’t just the numbers - it’s how he produces them. His assists aren’t routine. They’re unpredictable, disguised, devastating. He doesn’t just find players; he finds them in positions they didn’t know they could be in. 

He whips in low, curling balls behind the defence with laser-like precision. Strikers don’t have to adjust their runs; they just arrive, and the ball is there. It’s a telepathic understanding forged through repetition and brilliance. For natural-born goalscorers like Sergio Aguero and Erling Haaland, he's a gift that keeps on giving. 

Back in the Premier League, the 2021/22 season was slipping through our fingers on the final day of the season when we trailed 2-0 at home to Aston Villa needing a win. But a team that refuses to quit stepped up, Gundogan with a big header and Rodri with a deft finish from the edge of the box.  

And when the ball ran loose in the 81^st minute, De Bruyne was the quickest to react, driving at the Villa defence before squaring a tantalising cross for Gundogan to steer home a title-clinching winner. 

The following season brought another classic title duel, this time with Arsenal, and it saw us win decisively home and away against the Gunners. De Bruyne scoring and assisting at the Emirates, and getting two more at the Etihad Stadium, setting the tempo with a sensational early goal for another famous night.  

For all the magic, it's hasn’t always been smooth running. Injuries have been occasional - in 2019, he suffered prolonged absences and in 2021, the Champions League final was a punishing blow when Antonio Rudiger’s crude challenge saw a potential crowning night end in a Porto hospital.  

But 2023/24 was possibly the toughest as he spent months recovering from surgery on a hamstring problem that had dogged him for some time. But he never stopped fighting. Not just physically, but mentally – with a determination to keep making an impact.  

A warm-up as a substitute after five months’ out against Huddersfield Town in an FA Cup tie that was essentially over brought a deafening response around the Etihad, and it went up a notch when he came onto the pitch and again when he delivered a trademark assist. 

A few days later, he made a decisive impact in a win at Newcastle that was to be a turning point in a record-breaking season. Trailing 2-1 at St James Park, Guardiola called for his general and moments later he drove at the black and white defence to fire home a stunning equaliser. Then a sumptuous outrageous pass deep in injury time picked out Oscar Bobb and the Norwegian delivered a stunning win. City never looked back and made history. 

A perfectionist and not one for theatrics or media games, Kevin’s fiery nature occasionally spills out - whether snapping at referees or occasional frustration with team-mates. But it’s a passion that gives him and City an edge. 

“I just want to be the best version of myself and I push myself to be as good as I can be and then I think eventually people go with that,” he says.  

“If a lot of people push and push then there’s a momentum going up. I don’t feel necessarily I have to do that for other people.  

“But if some people do it, people will join you because you have to. Then if someone sets the standard of being there then the rest has to do the same. It gains the momentum together.” 

A proud Belgian, De Bruyne would go from intense seasons with City to try to inspire his country's so-called "Golden Generation" although they never quite fulfilled its promise. Despite the talent of Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois, it never quite happened and Belgium never made it past the semi-finals in major tournaments. 

De Bruyne has often been caught in the middle - sometimes carrying the team, sometimes looking lost in disjointed systems. Yet he’s delivered big moments: goals against Brazil, stunning assists at Euro 2020, and a string of dominant performances despite tactical inconsistencies. 

His loyalty has never wavered as he passed a century of caps but his international career is a reminder: even for the most talented, winning is the hardest thing and that he did it so consistently at the Etihad is an astonishing feat that is overlooked. When some got bored of City's dominance, De Bruyne was central to an era that will live forever. 

“It's hard to keep winning, it's hard to push yourself,” he says. “But I don't think it's even something we can explain because I don't feel like people would necessarily understand you know what it takes sometimes to be an athlete you know the limits don't exist, the limit is the next limit.  

“You push yourself up and up and up until there is a moment where maybe it goes down a little bit but then you know you see it with this year if you go down a little bit it's you know it's like a big shock to everybody. 

“I think the good thing about sport, you can't win all the time and even if you want to, sometimes if you are a little bit less at this level it's impossible to replicate.  

“But I think it shows the consistency that we have done for so many years even with the four in a row nobody did it. There is a reason why that is and it's just because it's really hard.” 

From Pep’s early days to the record-breaking seasons, from the heartbreak of Europe to its eventual conquest, De Bruyne has been the pulse of it all. 

He leaves as a symbol; of excellence, resilience, and relentless ambition. De Bruyne’s name is forever etched in the fabric of Manchester City - as a legend, a game-changer, and quite simply, one of the finest midfielders the Premier League has ever seen. 

King of Deadly Balls. Keen Decisive Brain. Kinetic Dynamic Baller. Key Delivery Brilliance. Kingpin of Deadly Build-up. Knows Danger Better. There will only ever be one KDB: Kevin De Bruyne.