Manchester City maestro Kevin De Bruyne falls into the category of players who are deceptively quick.
De Bruyne is associated with his impeccable passing range and one of a kind vision — which is perhaps why there might be a tendency to overlook his pace.
However, players who have gone toe-to-toe with the City midfielder have revealed how pacey he is.
Tom Cairney discussed De Bruyne’s pace — describing him as a “powerful boy” and claimed that “he can run past people.”
Michail Antonio chimed in after the Fulham midfielder’s revelation by revealing that once, he was playing against Manchester City and he had the ball at the edge of the box.
By the time Antonio played a pass, De Bruyne, who seemed far off him was right next to him in the blink of an eye.
De Bruyne says he would “eat” Man City phenomenon “in a race”
Especially in his prime, the Belgian’s speed would be evident when he got on the ball and drove past players — getting progressively quicker the further he ran.
In a footrace, there might be other players who could have the upper hand on the decorated midfielder.
But with the ball at his feet, the former VFL Wolfsburg creator has always been rapid.
As a result, De Bruyne becomes especially difficult to tame when Pep Guardiola’s side are on the break — due to his ability to run at full speed, carry the ball past players over large distances and either find a killer pass or go for goal.
Speaking to Manchester City’s official in-house media, the six-time Premier League winner was informed that his pace had gone down from 72 to 67 in EA FC25.
De Bruyne was alarmed by how he was considered slower than Bernardo Silva on the video game, claiming that he is much faster than him.
“But even by five, I’m still slower than Bernardo [Silva]. Imagine that. I eat him in a race.”
Grealish once described Bernardo as “so slow” as well.
Kevin De Bruyne is far quicker than Bernardo Silva
Being pacey certainly is not one of the £300,000-a-week man’s strongest suits.
While De Bruyne’s main attribute is not his speed either, he can dart past players in a way that the Portuguese international cannot.
The Manchester City vice-captain can be well and truly devastating when he gets on his bike while Bernardo always seems to glide on the pitch.
In a footrace, it is likely that De Bruyne would beat Bernardo.
But the latter’s footballing brain is on par with any player in the world — which is why the treble-winner can keep pace with the best of the best even if he is not blessed with bursts of pace.
