Kevin De Bruyne played his final game at the Etihad on Tuesday night as the Manchester City icon bid farewell to the club’s fanbase ahead of his summer departure
Kevin De Bruyne said his farewells to the Manchester City fans on Tuesday night, with Pep Guardiola breaking down in tears as it was confirmed a statue would be built in the Belgian’s honour.
De Bruyne played for the final time at the Etihad as City saw off Bournemouth 3-1, playing 70 minutes before bringing down the curtain on a decade on the blue half of Manchester.
He was bought off to a hero’s reception as Pep Guardiola reacted to a red card for Mateo Kovacic by bringing on Nico Gonzalez with twenty minutes left. The Etihad rose and sung out the Belgian’s name, but only after he’d missed an open goal in the first-half as he was denied the dream ending.
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The 33-year-old walked out with his family and his three children after the game as the fans remained to say their goodbyes. There was a montage of those associated with the club paying tribute to the playmaker played out on the big screen to leave Guardiola in tears.
De Bruyne eventually took centre stage and said: “Manchester is home, it is where my kids were born. I came here with my wife to stay for a long time, didn’t expect it to be ten years, to do what we’ve done as a club. We’ve won everything, we made the club bigger and now they’re going to take over.
“I wanted to play with creativity, with passion, I wanted to enjoy football and I hope everybody enjoyed it. Everybody from inside and outside of the club made me so much better than I was before, its been an absolutely honour to plat with these guys. I’ve made friends for life, I’ll be back for sure.”
He continued: “You just want to do well and win and when you win you want to win more. We’ve had six parades that have been incredible, to witness everything and all the moments with these teammates. It’s been a pleasure.”
Addressing the fans he said: “They’ve been so welcoming from the beginning but to have a full stadium supporting my family and me. Who can have 50,000 people waiting to say goodbye – it is indescribable. Thank you very much.”
De Bruyne was then quizzed on how it feels to have a statue created in his honour and said: “It means I’ll always be part of this club and I’ll represent a small piece. Whenever I come back I’ll be able to see myself standing around so I’ll always be here.”
Prior to addressing the crowd he spoke to Sky Sports and said: “It has been unbelievable to have the ten years I’ve had with everything that’s happened. It’s been an unbelievable ride, an absolute pleasure”.
He also added: “I want to bring joy to people, play offensive football, I want to have fun and I think we had a lot of fun in these ten years. Obviously you win, you lose sometimes but it was a joy working really hard and creating something for this club.”
De Bruyne’s exit was confirmed back in April after months of speculation with his contract winding down. He moved to Manchester from Wolfsburg back in 2015 for what was then a club-record fee and has gone on to become one of the club’s greatest ever players.
The Belgian has claimed six Premier League titles during his time at the Etihad and landed the Champions League in 2023. His stellar individual efforts have seen him scoop numerous accolades. He is a two-time PFA Player of the Year, winning the award in successive years.
De Bruyne’s next move is now front and centre with the playmaker not ruling out staying in Europe – or the Premier League. Originally he was tipped to move to the MLS, but has insisted he wants to continue playing at the highest level.
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