Kevin De Bruyne is currently the sole player Pep Guardiola inherited when he took over as manager of Manchester City in 2016.
The 27-year-old Raheem Sterling, who was a teammate of the 31-year-old midfield wizard, has since completed a £50 million transfer to Chelsea. One of the most paid players in the Premier League, Sterling, has signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge.
Kalidou Kouliably may soon follow after the Blues agreed to a £33.8 million agreement with Napoli to get the Senegal captain.
With Sterling’s departure this summer, Kevin De Bruyne is presently the only player still playing for Man City from City’s 2015–16 squad. Sterling left after veteran anchorman Fernandinho, 37, a prominent member of the squad, joined childhood club Athletico Paranaense in his native Brazil upon his contract expiration.
When Guardiola took over as manager at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2016, from Manuel Pellegrini, the Spanish tactician quickly set about overhauling the Cityzens team to fit his prevailing possession-based style of play.
Only Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero, Fabien Delph, and Nicolas Otamendi survived the major purge as the Spaniard splashed the cash in the transfer market, with De Bruyne and Sterling being the exceptions.
Only Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko were sold for a truly substantial sum, while John Stones, Leroy Sane, Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus, Claudio Bravo, Nolito, Marlos Moreno, and Oleksandr Zinchenko were all acquired for a total £190 million in Guardiola’s first summer at City.
Even Joe Hart, the first-choice goalkeeper for England, who spent eight successful seasons at Manchester, succumbed to Guardiola’s brutality and was loaned out to Torino, then West Ham, before being flogged to Burnley.
But the Spanishman’s aggressiveness soon paid off. After a trophy-less debut season under the former Barcelona manager, City have now won four Premier League championships, four League Cups, and an FA Cup.
However, only De Bruyne has stood the test of time so far and might last one or two more seasons under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola.
Kevin De Bruyne
Belgian-born professional footballer Kevin De Bruyne, a midfielder for Manchester City of the Premier League and the Belgium squad, was born on June 28, 1991.
He is widely considered as one of the greatest players of his generation and the entire world. He has frequently been referred to as a “complete footballer” by pundits.
When Genk won the Belgian Pro League in 2010–11, De Bruyne was a regular player there as his career kicked off. He signed on with English club Chelsea in 2012, where he saw limited action before he was loaned out to Werder Bremen.
He spent the 2014–15 DFB-Pokal season with Wolfsburg after signing a £18 million contract there, where he made a name for himself as one of the finest players in the Bundesliga. De Bruyne joined Manchester City in the summer of 2015 for a club-record £54 million.
Since then, he has helped the team win an FA Cup, five League Cups, and four Premier League championships. He played a big part in helping Manchester City set a milestone in 2017–18 by becoming the first Premier League team to score 100 points in a single campaign.
Kevin De Bruyne – The Art Of Playmaking
— Chris (@FutbolDeAmour) July 15, 2022
pic.twitter.com/9gMxBo99vD
De Bruyne tied the record for the most assists in a Premier League season in 2019–20 and was named Player of the Season (an honor he would later repeat in 202–21).
Kevin De Bruyne’s wife
Michele was born in Gent, Belgium, on December 8, 1993, and attended the University of Hasselt. 2014 was the beginning of her relationship with Kevin De Bruyne, and they got married in 2017.
After graduating, Michele took a job as a promotional director with Prime Impressions Hostesses. Although not much is known about her personal life, she is highly active on social media and frequently shares photos of her family.
When Kevin De Bruyne first met Michele, he was going through a difficult time due to the end of his previous relationship.
Kevin De Bruyne’s Ex
Caroline Lijnen, Kevin de Bruyne’s ex-girlfriend, admitted she cheated on herself by having an affair with Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
In his book Keep It Simple, De Bruyne, who spent two seasons at Chelsea before leaving for Wolfsburg in 2014, disclosed that his ex-girlfriend had an intimate relationship with Courtois.
De Bruyne’s parents first threatened to sue Lijnen if she revealed that the midfielder had cheated, but once the rumors surfaced in 2013, Lijnen decided to provide her side of the tale.
Honors
Genk
- Belgian Pro League: 2010–11
- Belgian Cup: 2008–09
- Belgian Super Cup: 2011
VfL Wolfsburg
- DFB-Pokal: 2014–15
- DFL-Supercup: 2015
Manchester City
- Premier League: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22
- FA Cup: 2018–19
- Football League/EFL Cup: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
- FA Community Shield: 2019
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2020–21
Belgium
- FIFA World Cup third place: 2018
Individual
- Bundesliga Young Player of the Year: 2012–13
- Bundesliga Player of the Year: 2014–15
- Bundesliga Team of the Year: 2014–15
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2014–15
- Footballer of the Year (Germany): 2015
- Belgian Sportsman of the Year: 2015
- Best Belgian Player Abroad: 2015, 2016
- Manchester City Player of the Season: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2019–20,2021–22
- Manchester City Goal of the Season: 2019–20
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2020, 2021
- IFFHS Men’s World Team: 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2017, 2019, 2020
- ESM Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
- European Sportsperson of the Year: 2020
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22
- Premier League Playmaker of the Season: 2017–18, 2019–20
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
- UEFA Champions League Team of the Season: 2021–22
- FIFA World Cup Dream Team: 2018
- Premier League Goal of the Month: November 2019, July 2020
- Premier League Player of the Season: 2019–20, 2021–22
- PFA Players’ Player of the Year: 2019–20, 2020–21
- UEFA Champions League Midfielder of the Season: 2019–20
- IFFHS World’s Best Playmaker: 2020, 2021
- IFFHS UEFA Team of the Decade: 2011–2020
- IFFHS All-Time Belgium XI
