The playmaker will make his final home appearance for the club against Bournemouth on Tuesday after a dominant decade in blue
'Oh, Kevin De Bruyne' – to the tune of The White Stripes' smash hit 'Seven Nation Army' – has been the soundtrack of the Etihad Stadium for the last decade. But Tuesday's game against Bournemouth will be the last time it is heard, at least when the player is in the ground and wearing a blue shirt.
City still have a lot of work to do against Andoni Iraola's side to ensure they go into their final game of the season at Fulham with Champions League qualification in their own hands, and yet their mission to earn the three points and finish in the top five is still taking a back seat compared to the tributes planned for De Bruyne, who is leaving City after 10 glorious and unforgettable years.
De Bruyne became City's most expensive player when he signed from Wolfsburg in 2015 for £55 million ($73m), and at the time he was the second-most expensive signing in English football behind Angel de Maria. Needless to say, he has more than paid it off, especially compared to Di Maria's forgettable season at Old Trafford.
"Kevin will get what he deserves. That is the best compliment for his incredible trajectory," Pep Guardiola said ahead of what is sure to be an emotional night in east Manchester. "What he has done with other legends in the club, it would not have been possible since Sheikh Mansour took over the club to reach another level."
De Bruyne has scored 108 goals for City and set up another 177. He has lifted 18 trophies and he will no doubt be hurting about the fact he could not make it 19 in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace. But most of all he will be remembered as the best player in the club's history. Yaya Toure, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero all played significant roles in putting City on the map as a global force, paving the way towards their dominance of the Premier League. But no one can compete with De Bruyne when it comes to consistency and breathless moments.
Ahead of 'King Kev's' last stand in front of his own fans, GOAL pays tribute by ranking his top 10 Man City moments…
10Sheer cheek at Cardiff
In terms of importance, this goal ranks very low, given it came in an FA Cup fourth-round win at Cardiff City in the one season under Guardiola in which City failed to reach the semi-finals. But it did sum up De Bruyne's audacity and his belief in pulling off shots that most players would not even consider.
The Belgian stood over a free-kick, and as the Cardiff players in the wall leapt to try and block a rising shot, he rolled it under the jumping opponents and into the net. De Bruyne is not the only player to score this type of free-kick, but he was a trendsetter, with Lionel Messi among those following suit soon after. And opponents quickly caught on, with almost all teams now deploying a 'draft excluder' to lie down and prevent any naughty takers trying to sneak a shot under their carefully constructed wall.
It means goals like this are an increasingly rare breed, and De Bruyne is one of the few players to have pulled it off.
AdvertisementGetty9Completing his century
Palace may have beaten City in De Bruyne's last-ever cup final with City, but he has done more than enough damage to the Eagles over the years. Just take his virtuoso display at Selhurst Park towards the end of the 2023-24 season, when he scored twice and provided an assist in a stunning 4-1 comeback win which kept City on track for their record-breaking, fourth-successive Premier League title.
De Bruyne scored his 100th goal for the club to put City on level terms before then setting up Erling Haaland to score before rounding off the victory with another goal for himself. Guardiola was in awe of the centurion afterwards, saying: "For many years he has been one of the best players for our club. What he has done in England has been unbelievable. Many goals, assists and consistency. We had four or five months without him and now we need him at the end of the season."
8Arrow into Chelsea's hearts
City were in stunning form at the start of the 2017-18 season, as they beat both Liverpool and Crystal Palace 5-0 while pummelling Watford 6-0 ahead of a visit to defending champions and early title rivals Chelsea. Antonio Conte's side were no pushovers, but City eventually grabbed victory thanks to a beautiful goal from De Bruyne, who had endured a difficult and disappointing time at Stamford Bridge after struggling to earn game time under Jose Mourinho.
The Belgian made his former club regret letting him go by breaking the deadlock midway through the second half, as he played a one-two with Gabriel Jesus before firing the ball high into the net with his left foot. Guardiola was ecstatic on the touchline and the result tasted even sweeter than the previous thrashings, as it proved City could beat the best teams even when pushed to the limits.
AFP7Last hurrah
In De Bruyne's first game at the Etihad since announcing he was leaving the club – or to put it more accurately, being told by Guardiola that he had to leave – he naturally pulled out a performance for the ages, sending a message that he still had plenty to offer City on the off chance they wanted to change their minds.
Visitors Crystal Palace went 2-0 up in the first half and had a third ruled out for offside before De Bruyne got to work. Once he did, though, he was unstoppable. He reduced the deficit with a free-kick goal and then helped set up Omar Marmoush's equaliser with a cushioned header. In the second half, he laid the ball off for Mateo Kovacic to put City in front, and they never looked back.
Guardiola was delighted but wasn't surprised: "The performance was what Kevin has done for many, many years and many, many games."