Ahead of the Manchester derby on Sunday, Kevin De Bruyne has announced that he’ll be leaving Man City in the summer.
Manchester City head to Old Trafford on Sunday for a game against neighbours Manchester United. And it’ll prove to be Kevin De Bruyne‘s last Manchester derby. On Friday the 33-year-old De Bruyne announced that he’ll be leaving Man City this summer when his current contract expires.
It brings an end to what’s been a season of uncertainty over the Belgian’s future. But a string of tiresome performances has seemingly prompted him and the club to part ways.
Man City fans have been critical of De Bruyne but he’ll leave the club as a true legend of the modern era, winning a staggering 16 titles including six Premier Leagues since he arrived from Wolfsburg in 2015.
This season has been struggle, though. De Bruyne has scored just twice in 20 Premier League outings, assisting six more, with Man City sitting in 5th place of the table after a 2-0 win over Leicester City in midweek.
Ruben Amorim reacts to Kevin De Bruyne’s Man City announcement
Speaking to the press on Friday afternoon, Amorim was rather inevitably asked about De Bruyne’s announcement that he’ll be leaving City, and putting rivalries aside, Amorim took the time to appreciate De Bruyne’s career and his sheer quality in the Premier League over the last 10 years.
The Man United boss explained: “He was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. The time passes for everyone, it’s a natural. He improved the league. He was on the wrong side of Manchester! It was a pleasure to see him in Portugal a lot of times. I hope he enjoys the rest of his life.”
Amorim won his first ever Manchester derby back in December but this is his first at Old Trafford, whilst it’ll be De Bruyne’s last as a player.
Kevin De Bruyne’s record for Man City vs Man United
De Bruyne has played Man United an incredible 21 times in his career. Man United are third in the list of teams De Bruyne has faced most in his career having played Chelsea and Arsenal on 22 occasions.
All 21 of his games against United have been with Man City. He’s been on the winning side 10 times, drawing four and losing seven with Man United beating Man City at the Etihad earlier this season.
De Bruyne has also scored three goals in Manchester derbies with all three of those goals coming in Premier League games, whilst recording six assists in the fixture too; four in the Premier League and two in the FA Cup.
Should De Bruyne feature on Sunday then Man United will become the joint-first team that De Bruyne has played against most in his career.
Kick off is at 4:30pm on Sunday.
