DE BRUYNE: EUROPE’S OK BUT THIS IS THE BIG ONE

SIMON MULLOCK

KEVIN DE BRUYNE insists winning the Premier League will always mean more to him than the Champions League.

De Bruyne has won three titles in the last four seasons under Pep Guardiola, and is aiming to finish top of the table again despite Liverpool’s growing threat.

But City are yet to be crowned champions of Europe – and Guardiola is desperate to end that wait before he leaves the Etihad.

De Bruyne (right) doesn’t agree that this City side MUST conquer the continent if they are to be remembered as a great team.

He said: “I always choose the Premier League [as the bigger test], but I have never won the Champions League. If I have to choose, I would go for the league.

“It shows the consistency of a player and what you have to do across a whole season.

“In the Champions

League you need to be good, but then in certain times it is more of a lottery. A little bit of luck is involved compared to the league where there are way more games.

“But whatever you will give me, I will take!”

City became the only team in top-flight history to amass 100 points when they won the title in 2019 and retained the trophy the following season with 98 points. They were beaten by Chelsea in last season’s Champions League final.

But De Bruyne refuses to accept that he would need to rule Europe to be fit to join the game’s greats.

He believes failure is part of the process of becoming a better player.

City go into the Manchester derby with Liverpool upping the pressure.

And De Bruyne said: “What does legacy mean? Would my personal achievements be bigger if maybe for instance we won the Champions League last year?

“For me, as a player ‘no’, as I know what I did and what I had to do. There are legends of the game who have not won a Champions

League. At the end of my career, I won’t be looking back at what I haven’t achieved as a player.

“I know you want to win a lot, but one more trophy doesn’t define what you did in your career.”

He added: “When you are an athlete, whenever you lose it hurts.

“But I think sometimes it is good to have moments that hurt. You cannot have a life where everything is going well. That is not how it works. Sometimes you need it.

“Failing is not bad for me, failing is a process to evolve as a player, a team and a human being.”