Kevin De Bruyne shares emotional goodbye message to Manchester City fans | OneFootball

An emotional Kevin De Bruyne bid farewell to Manchester City supporters at the Etihad on Tuesday, expressing his hope that they would remember his time at the club "with joy".

The Belgian midfielder made his 142nd and final home appearance for City in their 3-1 victory over Bournemouth, nearly marking the occasion with a goal when his first-half strike rattled the crossbar.

Following the match, a tearful De Bruyne was centre stage for an emotional on-field presentation.

Video tributes from former teammates, including Sergio Agüero, Fernandinho, and Vincent Kompany, club legend Mike Summerbee, and admirers like Thierry Henry, played on the big screen, prompting tears from manager Pep Guardiola as well.

De Bruyne, accompanied by his wife Michele and their three children, walked onto the pitch through a guard of honour formed by City players and staff.

Visibly moved, the 33-year-old struggled to contain his emotions when he first addressed the crowd.

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Manchester City fans display a banner of Kevin De Bruyne ahead of his final home appearance

“Manchester is home,” De Bruyne said. “Manchester is where these little kids were born. I came here with my wife Michele and we didn’t expect to be here 10 years, to do what we have done as a club, with the supporters, my team-mates.

“We’ve won everything. We’ve made the club bigger and now they’re going to take over.”

De Bruyne has scored 108 goals in 421 City appearances, the first City midfielder since Colin Bell to hit triple figures, while also piling up 177 assists.

During his 10-year stay, De Bruyne became City’s most successful player, winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups, the Champions League, the Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

“I wanted to play with creativity, I wanted to play with passion,” he said. “I wanted to enjoy football and I hope, I think, everybody enjoyed it. Everybody pushed me so hard from the inside and outside the club to be the best version of myself.

“These guys you see on the screen and these guys in front of me made me better than I was. It was an absolute honour to play with these guys. I made friends for life and you know all together we will be back for sure.”

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The Etihad Stadium paid tribute to Kevin De Bruyne (Martin Rickett/PA)

Asked how he wanted to be remembered by fans, he said: “With joy. I want to entertain people and to win. This teams works incredibly hard, this team wants to win and they will win in the future with me or without me.”

Before the game the club unveiled a mosaic and dedicated a road at the club’s academy to De Bruyne, and it was announced after the match he will also be honoured with a statue outside the Etihad Stadium – following on from his former team-mates David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero.

The mosaic, installed by a training pitch at the City Football Academy, depicts a De Bruyne celebration and was revealed to the player by club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak ahead of the visit of the Cherries.

Created by local Manchester artist and City fan Mark Kennedy, the artwork is the latest in a series of tributes to City greats, including Silva, Kompany, Aguero, Yaya Toure, Joe Hart, Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan.