Soccer-De Bruyne bids Man City farewell as one of the all-time greats

By Rohith Nair

(Reuters) -When Manchester City signed Kevin De Bruyne for a record fee in 2015, the sceptics wondered if the Belgian who flopped at Chelsea was worth the money, but after a decade of remarkable service he will leave the club as a Premier League great.

Few have had the ability to alter the course of a game like De Bruyne did in his prime as he became the central cog in City's all-conquering side.

But after injuries limited his appearances in the last two campaigns, the 33-year-old De Bruyne has decided to leave the club at the end of the season, with his legacy as one of the league's best ever creative playmakers set in stone.

"Football led me to all of you and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life," De Bruyne said.

"This city, this club, these people gave me everything. I had no choice but to give everything back! And guess what - we won everything."

When the sun sets on his City career, De Bruyne will leave the club second on the list for most Premier League assists (currently on 118) - behind only Ryan Giggs, who needed 22 years to amass 162.

De Bruyne also equalled Thierry Henry's record of 20 assists in a season in the 2019-20 campaign while no player has created more chances than the Belgian since his City debut in 2015.

He has been involved in 280 goals for City in all competitions, which include 174 assists.

His glittering decade-long City career will finish with six Premier League titles, five League Cups, two FA Cups with potentially a third next month and a Champions League crown the club strived so hard to win after several failures.

The construction of another statue outside the Etihad Stadium to mark his achievements seems almost inevitable.

"I would bet a lot of money that it (building a statue to honour De Bruyne) is going to happen," City manager Pep Guardiola said.

"There's no doubt he's one of the greatest, for sure."

'THE 60 MILLION REJECT'

None of this was foreseen, however, when he made his return to England, with one unforgiving newspaper taking great pains to paint him as "The 60 million pound reject".

Following an ill-fated spell at Chelsea where he was rarely used by Jose Mourinho and sent out on loan twice, De Bruyne left England and made a name for himself at VfL Wolfsburg.

He dazzled in Germany with 20 goals and 37 assists in 73 games for Wolfsburg before City decided to splurge on the then 24-year-old.

A fee in the region of 50 million pounds ($65.08 million) was spent to make him City's most expensive signing and the first thing he said was that he wanted to "reach the highest level possible as a player" at City, which he certainly did.

Only a handful of players have the ability to see two moves ahead and make a pass with incredible and devastating precision.

Be it threading the needle or finding a teammate with a teasing cross into the box, De Bruyne's passes were consistently highlight reel material.

Even when he was not assisting his teammates, defenders were wary of his ability to drive through midfield as well as his eye for goal and unerring knack of finding the top corner.

When Guardiola took over at City in 2016, he knew the squad he inherited needed major surgery.

But after a decade of players coming and going at the club, De Bruyne has remained a constant in an era when City made winning a habit.

"His assists, his goals, his vision in the final third is so difficult to replace. Everyone can make actions but over how many years and games is what makes him unique," Guardiola said.

"His performance during this decade has been outstanding. We've won a lot of trophies and he's been involved in every single one."

($1 = 0.7683 pounds)

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)