Man City to honour De Bruyne with special statue outside Etihad Stadium
Published on May 21, 2025
By IANS
- MANCHESTER — Manchester City will honour Kevin De Bruyne’s incredible decade of
service to the Club by commissioning a special statue celebrating the
midfielder’s magnificent Etihad career.
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- It was was confirmed immediately after Tuesday night’s
penultimate Premier League clash of the 2024/25 season at home to Bournemouth,
which marked the 33-year-old’s final Etihad appearance for the Club.
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- De Bruyne revealed how proud and honoured he was at being
afforded such a special tribute in the form of a statue.
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- "It means I will always be part of this club.
Whenever I come back with family and friends, I will be able to see myself so I
will always be here," De Bruyne said.
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- After a success laden 10 years at City, during which time
he played more than 400 games, helping the Club win 19 major trophies, De
Bruyne will be moving on in the summer.
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- During his decade in Manchester, apart from his six
Premier League titles, the 33-year-old was crowned Premier League Player of the
Season twice, in 2019/20 and 2021/22, and also won the Playmaker award for the
most assists in a season three times, in 2017/18, 2019/20 and 2022/23.
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- The 20 goals he created in 2019/20 is also a joint-record
for assists in a season, a feat he shares with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.
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- After the final whistle of the match, Kevin was also
presented with a special framed shirt signed by all of team-mates and staff
along with a lifetime City Season Card while a special video tribute was played
on the Etihad big screen.
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- In being afforded the honour of having a statue
commissioned in his name, De Bruyne will follow in the illustrious footsteps of
a number of other totemic City players who have also been recognised for their
seismic contributions to the Club.
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- In 2021, two iconic statues were unveiled outside the
Etihad in celebration of former captain Vincent Kompany, and midfield marvel
David Silva, both of whom played such a defining part in helping to establish
City as one of the game’s pre-eminent forces across more than a decade,
according to Manchester City website.
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- That was then followed in 2022 by another celebratory
statue, this time to Sergio Aguero, in recognition of the Club’s all-time
record goal scorer whose famous 93:20 strike secured City’s first-ever Premier
League title in 2012.
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- City’s rich history was then further acknowledged in 2023
by what was our latest statue, this time in honour of iconic trio Mike
Summerbee, Francis Lee and Colin Bell which recognised the 30 years’ combined
service the legendary three gave to City from the 1960s onwards.
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- Now De Bruyne will see his own enormous recognition
across the past 10 years honoured in perpetuity with his own richly deserved
statue.
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- Earlier on Tuesday, Kevin was present at a ceremony at
the CFA where a special mosaic honouring his enormous contribution to the Club
was unveiled by City Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
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- Kevin’s mosaic was also the latest in a series of such
moving tributes to City legends, Yaya Toure, Joe Hart, David Silva, Vincent
Kompany, Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan.
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