De Bruyne’s Premier priority
MANCHESTER CITY’S Kevin De Bruyne would rather win another Premier League title than make history in the Champions League.
While Pep Guardiola and the City hierarchy are keen to succeed in Europe, De Bruyne argues being the best in England over 38 games is the bigger achievement.
City are top of the table and victory against Manchester United today would push them closer to a fourth domestic championship in five seasons.
‘If I have to choose, I would go for the Premier League,’ said De Bruyne. ‘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 at certain times it’s more of a lottery compared with the league, which has more games.
‘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.
‘There are legends of the game who haven’t won a Champions League. At the end of my career, I won’t be looking back at what I haven’t achieved.
‘I know you want to win a lot, but one more trophy doesn’t define what you did in your career. When you are an athlete whenever you lose it hurts, but I think sometimes it’s good to have moments that hurt.
‘You can’t have a life where everything is going well [all the time]. That’s not how it works.’
De Bruyne also says his upturn in form is due to recovering from injury.
‘I think I’ve been playing good. I started the season with a lot of pain in my ankle,’ he says.
‘I had to go through it and wait a little bit. But from November I’ve been playing a lot of games. I’m totally fine with what I’m doing and happy.’