Emotional Pep Guardiola pays heartfelt tribute to De Bruyne after Man City legend’s final home game | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his side wanted to win for Kevin De Bruyne on what was his last home appearance for the club.

De Bruyne announced last month that he would be leaving City after ten years at the Etihad Stadium, with tonight’s 3-1 win against Bournemouth his final home match.

The Belgian playmaker was given a special send-off from the club after the game with the 33-year-old being awarded a guard of honour.

Guardiola spoke about wanting his side to win for the departing star, given all he had given to the club during his decade in sky blue.

“There’s something that you cannot buy, if you’re honest,” Guardiola said. “He got all the love especially the gratitude for the player year after year what he’s done.

“The most important thing was to win the game and we did it against an incredible opponent. They destroyed us in the Premier League in the first leg. The games are always good, we had chances, they had chances, it was open and the people enjoy.

“It was true we felt something, it was his day we wanted to win for him. The vibes we had since we arrived were there.”

The scenes from post-match brought joy to the Citizens boss, with former teammates from previous seasons all returning to honour the playmaker.

With it being a “sad day” for Guardiola, the Catalan understands the importance of the impact De Bruyne made for City, who will reward the Belgian with a statue.

“Everybody saw how much they are connected, the people of Man City and him, his family, and how much love, that is nice.

“When you leave a place where you have been a decade, with this incredible love and respect and gratitude, there is nothing else better than that.

“I’m part of that. The club took the decision and I’m part of that. It’s a sad day. He will be missed, there’s no doubt about that.

“On the other side, I think it was a lovely day for him. He made an incredible contribution to achieve that victory that is massively important. Still we need the last step but it has been really, really nice.

“No one will be like Kevin. Like with Sergio (Aguero) for example.

“There are players that are unique, that can score the most important goal in the club’s history.

“It was so nice to see Leroy and Raheem and the disaster outfit from Riyad and many, many older players like Pablo and Joe Hart. Everyone was there. It was so, so nice.

“Ten years is a lot of games, a lot of titles, a lot of moments and today I saw how much love was there. It’s so, so nice.”