I can’t explain how much I appreciate support of City fans, says De Bruyne | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne has thanked Manchester City fans for their support during his incredible 10-year spell at the Club.

The talismanic midfielder will leave City this summer after a glittering decade as a central figure in the most trophy-laden era in our history.

After joining in 2015 and lifting the League Cup in his first term, De Bruyne has gone on to be one of Pep Guardiola’s star men during a period that has seen us go on to claim 19 major honours in total.

A brilliantly creative attacking midfielder who often contributed at the biggest moments, it’s no mystery as to why the Belgian is such a favourite at the Etihad Stadium.

He has racked up an astonishing 170 assists – including 119 in the Premier League, the second most of any player in the current era.

That’s alongside 108 goals, meaning he is one of only 19 men to score 100 times for City and the first midfielder since Colin Bell to do so.

WATCH: De Bruyne: I am happy with how my life went at Manchester City

Speaking in his farewell interview, De Bruyne insisted none of his myriad of achievements would have been possible without the support of City fans in Manchester and around the world.

“The only thing I can say is thank you,” he said when asked if he had a message for fans.

“Thank you for supporting me, obviously supporting the team, the club, supporting my family, my kids.

“It’s always been positive towards me and my family – that’s really important for me. It’s weird because for my family, it’s home. My kids were born here.

“I don’t think I can explain how I feel about everything, how much I appreciate it so, I can just say thank you.”

WATCH: Thank You, King Kev

City have been the Premier League’s dominant side during De Bruyne’s time in England, winning six of the last eight titles.

He’s also lifted five League Cups and two FA Cups in that time as well as our first ever Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup successes.

Having spent so long at the very top of the game, De Bruyne is keen to stress the work that goes into maintaining that level of consistency.

“It's hard. It’s hard to keep winning and to always push yourself,” he said.

“But I don't think it's something we can explain because I don't feel like people would necessarily understand what it takes sometimes to be an athlete.

“The limits don't exist, the limit is the next limit.

“You push yourself up and up and up until there is a moment where maybe it goes down a little bit but then you see it with this year if you go down a little bit it's a big shock to everybody.

WATCH: Watch: City heroes past and present hail King Kev

“I think the good thing about sport is that you can't win all the time and even if you want to, sometimes if you are a little bit less at this level it's impossible to replicate.

“But I think it shows the consistency that we have done for so many years you know even with the four in a row nobody did it.

“There is a reason why that is. It’s really hard.”

Amongst the myriad of spectacular achievements De Bruyne has been a part of, the Belgian was a key figure in the 2017/18 Centurions when we became the only side ever to reach 100 points in the Premier League.

That remains a level of excellence that all prospective champions aspire to, with City and Liverpool both coming close to emulating it during that period but ultimately falling short.

Asked whether he could see anyone else reaching three figures in one season, De Bruyne stressed the difficulty of the achievement.

“Maybe. But it's very hard because obviously the year after we were close and I think Liverpool were close once.

“It's really hard because in 38 games you can only lose like two or three and draw two or three.

“So the consistency of just winning the games is really hard and even in the end we had to push hard to win these games so I don't know if it happens [again] but at least it's incredible that we've done it.”