Premier League fans have voted Kevin de Bruyne as the best midfielder in the competition’s history.
Manchester City supporters haven’t stopped waxing lyrical about the Belgian midfielder since he joined the club in 2015, and for good reason.
There have been several different versions of De Bruyne since he arrived at the Etihad Stadium – wide man, attacking midfielder, box-to-box midfielder, gun-slinger, false nine and provider of ridiculous crosses – and he’s excelled in each.
Last weekend, De Bruyne provided the 100th assist of his Premier League career during his 237th appearance in the division.
No player has ever reached that milestone in as few games – it took the 31-year-old 56 games less than previous record holder Cesc Fabregas.
Add in some incredible goals, herculean performances and some scarcely believable passes over the years, and De Bruyne can stake a claim to being City’s best ever player.
However, fans of other Premier League clubs have not always been on the De Bruyne wagon – until now.
The best of all-time
In a poll conducted by football data outlet Visual Game – as reported by the Daily Mail – football fans chose the two-time PFA Players’ Player of the Year as the best midfielder in Premier League history.
De Bruyne is one of just two current Premier League midfielders to be included in the top 10, the other being Chelsea star N’Golo Kante.
By claiming top spot, De Bruyne beat out the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes, who finished second, third and fourth respectively.
Rounding out the top five is Patrick Vieira, with the Frenchman’s great nemesis Roy Keane coming eight and Fabregas ranked ninth.
Taking their places at sixth and seventh are De Bruyne’s former City teammates and fellow club legends, Yaya Toure and David Silva.
Looking beyond the top 10, three of De Bruyne’s current City teammates have been included in the top 20. Rodri is ranked 17th, Ilkay Gundoan 18th and Bernardo Silva 20th.
Apart from De Bruyne, all of the top five midfielders have retired from playing, while Fabregas and Silva now play their football abroad.
It’s also clear how highly non-midfielder Premier League legends rate De Bruyne. After De Bruyne impressed in City’s 7-0 Champions League demolition of RB Leipzig last month, Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher both included the City man in their all-time Premier League XIs.
