Kevin De Bruyne has insisted that the outcome of the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League final won’t define his career at Man City.
The 31-year-old has cemented his legacy as one of the Premier League’s very best midfielders ever during his time at Manchester City, winning five league titles and two PFA Players’ Player of the Year awards.
2022/23 was one of KDB’s best of his career thus far with the midfielder bagging a stunning 24 assists in all competitions as City won the league, FA Cup and reached the UEFA Champions League final. It’s that aforementioned Champions League final which many feel will define this trophy-laden era for Manchester City.
The Citizens have come within a whisker of winning the competition in the past, notably losing a final to Chelsea in a game which De Bruyne was forced off in due to a head injury, and are heavy favourites going into this season’s showpiece clash against Inter in Istanbul.
With a historic treble and a first European winners’ medal in touching distance however, De Bruyne has told the press that he doesn’t believe the game will define his legacy: “Will it help? Yes. But one 90 minutes doesn’t define a career.
“I am on around 700 games. One 90 minutes out of 700 doesn’t define my career. But obviously it helps. We have performed really well. We have been in so many quarter and semi-finals and two finals. We have been there most of the time.
“I want to win the Champions League and I want to win the treble. We should enjoy next week and hopefully we can perform the best we can.”
If Man City manage to beat Inter they’d become just the second English club to complete a treble, with Man Utd the only other club who’ve managed the incredible feat.