Kevin has to secure cups first

PEP Guardiola t hinks Kevin De Bruyne will have to help Manchester City win trophies before he can be regarded as one of the greats like Lionel Messi.

However, the City boss feels such comparisons with the Barcelona star could put too much pressure on his Belgian forward.

De Bruyne has been in outstanding form for the Premier League leaders in the early par t of t he season and he delivered a passing masterclass i n Saturday’s 7-2 rout of Stoke, helping set up four goals.

That came after another commanding show, and match-winning goal, against champions Chelsea prior to the recent international break.

Asked if De Bruyne, 26, could currently be regarded as t he best player in Europe, Guardiola said: “The best is just one player. If he wants to be considered one of the best, you have to win titles and we are here to help him to achieve that.

“The best is just one but he is of course one of the best.”

Guardiola, previewing t o n i g h t ’s C h a m p i o n s League Group F clash at home to Napoli, was referring to Messi when he spoke about the best.

The former Barca boss regularly expresses his admiration for the Argentinian five-time World Player of the Year, with whom he won two Champions League trophies and three La Liga titles.

Asked if De Bruyne could ever reach Messi’s level, Guardiola said: “It would be a dream for me. I would love Kevinto achieve the level of Messi.”

Kevin De Bruyne