The legend of Kevin De Bruyne continues to grow at Manchester City
Manchester City's Premier League fixture against Fulham tomorrow at Craven Cottage is likely the final game that Kevin De Bruyne will play for the club. It is unlikely that De Bruyne will play for the club at the upcoming FIFA Club World Cup in June. We saw the Manchester City legend say goodbye to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday evening. That farewell was fit for a club legend, and his status at the club was clear to see based on the outpouring of emotion on display on Tuesday evening.
But just when you think that the legend of Kevin De Bruyne at Manchester City couldn't grow any larger, a new revelation has come out today. It further solidifies De Bruyne's status at the club. It also shows that the Belgian international gave everything both physically and mentally to the cause for his club.
Arguably, the biggest moment for Kevin De Bruyne came during the 22/23 season. Manchester City took on Real Madrid in the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League. The first leg of the tie came at the Bernabeu. Pep Guardiola's side needed a result to set themselves up for the second leg at the Etihad. They left the Bernabeu with a 1-all draw, and the rest is history. Kevin De Bruyne scored the equaliser on that famous night as he scored a second half stunner. It was a goal that summed up the genius and quality of De Bruyne. But the goal and De Bruyne's performance came in trying circumstances. The fact that De Bruyne performed so well under duress further enhances his legend status at Manchester City.
City's last visit to the Santiago Bernabeu. Kevin De Bruyne with one of the best goals in Champions League history.
🪄🇧🇪
pic.twitter.com/glCQEAY3Dv
— Amos Murphy (@AmosMurphy_) April 9, 2024
In an interview with mancity.com, Kevin De Bruyne spoke on the circumstances that surrounded him in the lead up to that famous night. He revealed that his family was dealing with tragedy leading up the famous Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid during the 22/23 season. Speaking with mancity.com, De Bruyne explained: 'It's probably one of the best weeks and the worst that I'd ever had in my life. I remember we played on Tuesday, and my wife's grandfather, who was really close to us, was dealing with cancer.'
'Obviously he was not really good, and I think a lot of people already said goodbye. I was basically the only one who didn't say goodbye, so on Sunday, I flew to Belgium to say goodbye.'
'He was in really bad pain, then on Monday I had to fly here, train in the morning, then fly to Madrid and then on the Monday evening he died.'
'It was a really emotional time, then obviously the next Sunday, I had to go before the other Madrid game on Sunday or Monday to attend the funeral.'
'Then, at the time of his funeral, my grandmother died, so I had to drive five hours to say goodbye to her. It was an absolute mess.'
'I just played on pure emotion, no sleep.'
'There's that clip where I got angry with Pep in the Madrid game because I was all over the place.'
'I did what I had to do to play football.'
Kevin De Bruyne's legacy at Manchester City is already established. That is never going to change. But his revelation with mancity.com about the circumstances that surrounded him before arguably his greatest triumph for Manchester City speaks volumes about the mental strength and fortitude of Kevin De Bruyne. He put personal tragedy all to one side to do what was needed for his team. It was a performance for the ages, under the most trying of circumstances. It just further solidifies De Bruyne's status as a Manchester City legend. He gave it all for the club with physically and mentally. The image below is perhaps the best illustration of this.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
41 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Ruben Amorim has copied Jose Mourinho transfer tactic at Manchester United
Manchester United have wasted no time in getting down to business at the start of this summer's transfer window. After completing the £62.5million signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolves last weekend, United are now trying to get a deal in place to bring Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo to Old Trafford. Advertisement After seeing an opening offer worth £55m turned down in midweek, discussions between the two clubs are understood to remain ongoing and an improved bid is expected to be made. READ MORE: Man United 'target' £50m Ruben Amorim favourite as David Beckham pushes for transfer reunion READ MORE: Bryan Mbeumo talks, sales planned - Manchester United state of play ahead of transfer deadline Having already signed Cunha, who scored 17 goals across all competitions in 2024-25, the prospect of United adding Mbeumo, who scored 20 Premier League goals, to their attacking pool is exciting. United's attack was blunt for much of the 2024/25 campaign, so the fact they could start next season with two of the Premier League's most consistent recent goalscorers in their attack is extremely encouraging. Advertisement Should Mbeumo join Cunha at Old Trafford, the general feeling is they will occupy the two No.10 positions. Cunha regularly operated as the left-sided No.10 in a 3-4-2-1 system at Wolves, while Mbeumo has often drifted inside from the right flank at Brentford. United's switch to a 3-4-2-1 formation under Ruben Amorim last November means Cunha's transition to Old Trafford should be fairly seamless. He is a specialist in the No.10 role and the uniqueness of Amorim's formation means that he needs specialist operators to occupy key positions within it. Despite Cunha and potentially Mbeumo also offering United a sense of versatility, which chief executive Omar Berrada vowed the club would target this summer, Cunha's experience as a No.10 makes him a tailor-made fit for the role Amorim wants him to fill. And signing specialist players for specific positions is a route former United manager Jose Mourinho wanted to go down in the 2016 summer transfer window, while also acknowledging the importance of having players who could also play in different roles. Ruben Amorim has taken a leaf out of Jose Mourinho's (right) book. -Credit:. "We made a nucleus of four priorities, four positions, to give a certain balance to the squad," Mourinho said in July 2016. "To give a certain push in terms of the qualities I need and want. Advertisement "As you know, the ones with more vision. I am more a manager that likes specialists rather than multi-functional players because I am clear in my approach. "Multi-functional players – you need one or two if you have three central defenders injured. But, basically, I want specialists." United's early-window recruitment has given a clear indication that Amorim is after both specialists and a sprinkling of versatility. Multi-functional forwards have been missing from United's attacking ranks in recent years, making the addition of Cunha and the potential addition of Mbeumo extremely positive. However, Cunha, despite being capable of playing as a No.9, is, first and foremost, a specialist No.10, who will slot straight into the left-sided No.10 position. He is a maverick, capable of making something happen in the blink of an eye from that particular area of the pitch. The unique nature of Amorim's system means he will need specialist operators, hence why he was so determined to sign Patrick Dorgu back in January to operate at wing-back. He cannot rely on attempting to put square pegs in round holes.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Liverpool now only have ONE solution to no.9 problem and he's PERFECT
Liverpool now only have ONE solution to no.9 problem and he's PERFECT Gyokeres looks set to be Liverpool's new No. 9 Just a few weeks ago, Anfield Watch assessed the different strikes available on the market and identified that Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres would be the idea candidate to become Liverpool's new No. 9. Advertisement His £55m release cause is particularly reasonable for a 27-year-old who has a prolific track record of goalscoring, both in Portugal and in England's second tier, no one seems to be looking at him. 35 goals and 13 assists in the 2023/24 season, and 52 goals and 12 assists in his last campaign. This is including his efforts in Europe's premier competition - the Champions League. He's an incredible finisher and simply a rare opportunity in the market, which is scarce for talent. Sooner rather than later, Liverpool will need to make a decision about if they want to sign a striker this summer and who exactly that striker might be. Advertisement Liam Delap made a swift move from Ipswich to Chelsea last week and Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt is also favoured to move in the same direction, Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig is now having advanced discussions with Arsenal over a potential move, and Victor Osimhen is now scheduled to have a medical with Al Hilal, so he's also off the cards. Apart from Delap who had a £30m release clause, the other three had hurdles that Liverpool might not have been comfortable jumping over. Ekitike, for example, is unlikely to move for under €100m (£84m), Sesko is valued at £92.5m and Osimhen is said to have been after extraordinary wages. We're now in a problematic position. It has been further emphasised that Joao Pedro is available at Brighton, but dream signings such as Julian Alvarez at Atletico Madrid and Alexander Isak at Newcastle are set to be off the market. The options are seemingly extremely limited. It was reported a couple of days ago that 'more names will emerge in the next weeks' if a striker is in fact on the shopping list after all, but we've allowed ourselves to be bypassed by other teams. Advertisement Once the signings of Florian Wirtz and Milos Kerkez are finalised alongside Jeremie Frimpong, the club's business for the remainder of the summer will be fascinating to watch. Other positions are still in need of recruitment and the options in the striker department at least are slim pickings right now. But in Gyokeres, there remains an obvious solution and one the Reds should look to explore. Because he is pretty much perfect for what Liverpool are looking for right now. He is a pure goal threat and if Liverpool want a striker who scores goals, they will not find anyone better.
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Transfer news: Gittens to Chelsea, Kepa to Arsenal, Livramento to Man City
There's plenty of juicy transfer news circling as some of the Premier League's big boys continue to act fast in the summer transfer window. MORE — Premier League ins and outs from the summer transfer window Below we round up the latest transfers news concerning Premier League clubs. Gittens the latest young star heading to Chelsea? A report from The Athletic says that Chelsea are in negotiations with Borussia Dortmund to sign 20-year-old winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens who wants the move and a seven-year contract is reportedly on the table. Fabrizio Romano has added that Dortmund have rejected a $40 million bid but Chelsea are going to improve their bid to sign Gittens. The England U21 international has played regularly in the Bundesliga since joining Dortmund from Man City in 2022. He played in City's U23 side alongside new signing Liam Delap, midfielder Romeo Lavia and star playmaker Cole Palmer, so he should slot in seamlessly. Gittens left City just before current Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca was appointed as manager of their U23 side, but Maresca is clearly using his connections with that incredible U23 side. Gittens' arrival is a direct replacement for Jadon Sancho, as the winger is back at Manchester United after Chelsea declined the option to make his move permanent this summer. It lines up well with Chelsea's recruitment policy of signing young, hungry talent and Gittens has an eye for goal, makes things happen with his driving runs and has a lot of experience at the top level for his age. It all makes a lot of sense. Kepa to Arsenal is very sensible Gunner Blog has revealed that Arsenal are close to signing goalkeeper Kepa from Chelsea, with his $6.7 million release clause to be activated. The Spanish international goalkeeper, 30, was very impressive on loan at Bournemouth last season and it's a bit of a surprise that he's willing to go back to being a number two. But he will provide stiff competition for David Raya and it's very likely he will play at least 10-15 games a season to try and keep Raya fresh. This is a savvy move from Arsenal and gives them real competition in goal. Who knows, maybe Kepa will even usurp Raya? It's possible. Livramento to Man City is proving difficult Fabrizio Romano is reporting that Manchester City are struggling to sign one of their main targets, Tino Livramento. Per his report, Newcastle aren't budging on their valuation of Livramento as the England international is clearly Pep Guardiola's top target to be their long-term right back. The deal is 'on standby' for now as City may now turn to other options. Livramento, 22, is a fine player and has shaken off his awful luck with injuries to be a really consistent player for Newcastle over the last 12 months. He was key in their League Cup win and reaching the Champions League, so Newcastle do not want to lose the Chelsea academy product. But this could be a once-in-a-lifetime move for Livramento and his pace, direct running and ability to get on the ball and surge into midfield suits Guardiola's system perfectly.
