Manchester City have had plenty of legendary players and cult heroes over the decades which have thrilled fans of all generations.
From the heroes of yesteryear like Colin Bell to contemporary legends like Sergio Aguero, there are many players in Manchester City’s history books.
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the players who could be called a City legend while still plying his trade for the club.
Indeed, France legend Marcel Desailly once paid De Bruyne one of the biggest possible compliments.
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Marcel Desailly picked Kevin De Bruyne’s right foot when building his perfect footballer
Back in April 2024, Desailly was asked by Goal.com to put together his perfect footballer, and he could name any player from past and present.
In order to do so, he had to select a player’s left foot, right foot, heading capabilities, speed, strength, football IQ and skills.
When it came to his perfect player’s right foot, he said: “I like Kevin De Bruyne”.
Desailly went with Diego Maradona’s left foot, Duncan Ferguson’s heading capabilities, and the speed of Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappe.
He then picked Didier Drogba for strength, Zico for football IQ, and Zinedine Zidane for skills.
The comments pundits made towards Kevin De Bruyne move that have not aged well
City well and truly struck gold when they signed De Bruyne back in 2015.
At the time, the £55million fee City paid Wolfsburg seemed quite high, but De Bruyne has done enough over his time at the club to repay that fee many times over.
De Bruyne’s heroics over the past decade have certainly made some pundits eat their words.
For instance, former Liverpool captain Phil Thompson was outraged at how much City paid for him at the time.
“De Bruyne? My goodness Jeff, the world is going mad, isn’t it?” Thompson said on Sky Sports News, as transcribed by Manchester Evening News.
“You look at the amount of money they are paying for this boy, it’s just absolutely bonkers.
“He’s a good player, but is he a great player, for what he’s done, where he’s played?
“Wolfsburg are a good team, they got into the Champions League, but come on…”
| Kevin De Bruyne’s Man City career | |
| Appearances | 412 |
| Goals | 106 |
| Assists | 174 |
| Premier League titles | 6 |
| Champions League titles | 1 |
| FA Cups | 2 |
| League Cups | 5 |
| FIFA Club World Cups | 1 |
| Community Shields | 3 |
Meanwhile, Paul Merson said: “There’s players you see and you think ‘Yeah’, but I just don’t see this.
“I don’t see £50million odd for this player. I really do not see it at all.
“This is someone who was at the top club in England, Chelsea, and didn’t click, so he has played here before, with a top team with top players.
“I thought he was out of his depth at Chelsea. He never once went out on the pitch and looked like he belonged there.
“I don’t think he could handle it and now he’s going to City for about three times what Wolfsburg paid for him. Not for me.
“He’ll be on the bench at City for a start, because you can’t change a winning team. Who does he get in ahead of?
“Okay, he’s had a good season in Germany. But there are only a few decent clubs there really, aren’t there? It’s not the Premier League.”
