Kevin De Bruyne began his footballing career at his hometown club KVV Drongen before being snapped up by Gent for their academy.
After spending 6 years with the Belgian top-division club, though, he joined Genk in 2005. That is where he made his senior debut as a substitute against Charleroi at the end of the 2008/09 season.
De Bruyne started to make a name for himself in the following campaign and, by the start of 2012, he had attracted interest from several top European teams.
Joining Chelsea and his time in Germany
De Bruyne got his big move when he made the switch to Stamford Bridge in the 2012 January transfer window for £7m. He remained with Genk on loan until the summer.
After featuring for the Blues in pre-season, he was swiftly sent on a second loan spell to Werder Bremen. It was a successful time in Germany as he scored 10 goals in 34 games.
The performances meant that Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho made him part of the first-team squad for the 2013/14 campaign but he made just 9 appearances between August and the New Year.
Keen to get more game time, De Bruyne was allowed to leave for Wolfsburg in January 2014 for £18m. In his first full season with the Bundesliga side, he was named Germany Footballer of the Year, scoring 16 goals and providing 27 assists in 51 matches.
City spent the big bucks to bring in De Bruyne
The midfielder’s performances had grabbed the attention of the Cityzens’ recruitment team and they decided to splash the clash on the player, spending a club record £55 million, which made him the second most expensive player in British football at the time.
It would prove to be money well spent as, over the next decade, De Bruyne would become one of the greatest playmakers in Premier League history.
Across all competitions, the Belgian international has scored 101 goals and contributed 171 in 388 appearances (as of 1st November 2024). He has been part of a squad that has dominated English football during that period.
De Bruyne’s achievements with City
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- He has won 18 major honours with City, including six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups, three Community Shields, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
- De Bruyne has won the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award on two consecutive occasions (2020 and 2021).
- He has been named in the PFA Team of the Year on five occasions (2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23).
- De Bruyne has also won the club’s Player of the Season four times (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022).
Find out who is in Manchester City’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here
