Mark Schwarzer believes Kevin De Bruyne could age like fine wine just like Luka Modric has.
Considering De Bruyne’s senior career began in 2008 for Genk, he already has 16 years of football under his belt, which begs the question of how much longer he will be able to sustain his greatness.
Having played first-team football for over one and a half decades, one would not be surprised if the Manchester City midfielder could be well beyond his best sooner rather than later.
Mark Schwarzer says Kevin De Bruyne could age like Luka Modric
Then again, Eden Hazard recently claimed that his countryman remains the best player in the Premier League by some distance.
That too despite the presence of superstars like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Son Heung-min as well as emerging top performers like Phil Foden, Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
Mark Schwarzer thinks Kevin De Bruyne is far from falling off a cliff at the highest level and backs him to age like the 38-year-old Luka Modric has.
“He’s got the ability to do a [Luka] Modric, right? He’s got the ability to be a little deeper and maybe limit his runs. He’s got the passing ability, he’s comfortable on the ball”, he said on The Optus Sport Football Podcast.
“If he modifies his game a little bit, he could easily do that job, I think.”
It is easier said than done for Kevin De Bruyne
In our view, while Mark Schwarzer is right to liken Kevin De Bruyne to Luka Modric in terms of his attributes, for the former to age like the latter is easier said than done.
The Real Madrid legend’s senior career began in 2003 and somehow, he remains a world-class midfielder to this day.
The Croatian icon is an anomaly, much like Chelsea’s Thiago Silva, as the pair have somehow managed to play at the highest level well into their late thirties.
In addition, unlike Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric has been fortunate enough not to pick up as many serious injuries, which Mark Schwarzer did not take into consideration.
As a result, while De Bruyne has similar attributes to Modric in terms of being an exceptional passer and an elite technician, the former’s injuries as well as how unique the latter’s story is makes it a doubt whether he has several years ahead of him in the game.
One hopes for the Belgian’s sake that he too can play well into his thirties and dazzle football fans across the planet like Luka Modric has.
