Kevin De Bruyne told Erling Haaland he could have scored even more goals in a record-breaking season

Manchester
CNN

Kevin De Bruyne has lived a charmed life. From Sergio Agero and Romelu Lukaku to Samuel Eto’o and Fernando Torres, the midfielder has been lethal. attackers to finish off the opportunities he created.

But even with those premiums richesno one compares to Erling Haaland.

The Norwegian has scored a remarkable 52 points goals so far in all competitions in his debut season in England, with De Bruyne providing assists in 13 of them. Together, the pair have combined brilliantly to take Man City to the brink of history.

City have won the Premier League and FA Cup this season and face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday hoping to become only the second English team to win a treble of all three major trophies in one season.

During his glittering career, De Bruyne has learned the link between midfielder and forward, which Haaland has benefited from.

I’ve played with very good strikers in my life, De Bruyne told CNN sports analyst Darren Lewis, adding that Haaland plays differently than others he played with.

I tried to understand what they’re good at, and if I can get them in the right positions and do what they’re really strong at, I feel like I’ve tried to do everything I can to help my team win. Like whenever I’m on the ball, people give me options, people trust me to be able to give them opportunities.

But while Haaland has made a ridiculous impression in his first season at City, De Bruyne and Haaland himself have higher expectations.

“If I look at all the chances he had and all the chances he had to score, I expect him to score goals as well,” De Bruyne said. And that’s a silly thing to say when you think about someone scoring 50 goals. But there are also games where I have said to him: You could have scored three goals and one. But that’s a good thing.

Sometimes he said it himself. But I think every player at this level is a little bit like that. And I would say the same. Like: I should pass the ball like that or I should create more. And never with bad intentions. But I think even he sometimes feels like he could be better, but at 22, that’s a little crazy to say.

De Bruyne and his City team are on the verge of history.

The only team to achieve the treble is City’s arch-rivals Manchester United, who won the treble in the most dramatic fashion, scoring two late goals against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in 1999.

That team was full of famous characters. Alex Ferguson as manager and legendary players Peter Schmeichel, Gary Neville, Jaap Stam and Denis Irwin. Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole all started against Bayern, while Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjr played key parts from the bench.

And this City team has the potential to be different. Under the leadership of Pep Guardiola, the team consists of already known characters. Alongside De Bruyne are the established Kyle Walker, John Stones, lkay Gndoan, Rodri, Bernado Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Ederson. Meanwhile, Haaland, Rben Dias, Jack Grealish, Julin Álvarez and Phil Foden are on their way to cementing their legacies.

Many have drawn comparisons between the two teams, given their similarities both geographically and in their achievements. Former United striker Cole, who scored 121 goals in 275 appearances for the Red Devils. told CNN that he genuinely believed that the 1999 team would be more than good enough to compete against this Man City side.

But De Bruyne didn’t like making unnecessary comparisons.

It’s a huge achievement and if we could do it on Saturday, that’s a huge achievement too, he explained.

But how do you compare different eras, I would say, different players, different teams that you play?

I don’t know how you compare the teams they played against our teams. They should be proud of what they did, and if we do it, we should do the same. But it feels like a bit of unnecessary drama.

I also understand that people talk about it and how interesting it is, but I’m very happy that as a player I don’t feel the need to talk about these things because I’m not that kind of guy.

A lot has changed since De Bruyne signed for City.

His arrival in 2015 involved a hefty transfer fee and with it a wait.

With a price tag of $68.7 million (54.5 million) attached to De Bruyne’s name, certain media and Man Citys fans doubted whether he was worth the amount of money he was bought for. The previous season, De Bruyne had scored 16 goals and provided 28 assists to help Wolfsburg to second place in the Bundesliga and victory in the German Cup.

“Obviously I think a lot was said when I signed for City and the amount of money,” he said. And I thought at that moment when a lot of articles or people would say something, I had a feeling: People don’t watch other leagues.

In England the Premier League is the Premier League and they see snippets in Europe. But I feel like nobody saw what I did in Germany at that time with Wolfsburg and the Europa League and winning the cup.

We had an amazing season and I felt like no one saw my progress. And I couldn’t do anything about the amount of money. These clubs negotiate and it happens. Maybe I have a little chip on my back to say: When I come to City, I’m going to perform.

Eight years later and now 31-year-old De Bruyne has achieved almost everything at Man City and has become one of the best attacking players in the world.

Unlocked to his full potential under Guardiola’s genius, De Bruyne is known for his runs, precise passes and lightning strikes.

One thing that has eluded him and City is a Champions League trophy. Man City reached the final of the competition two years ago, but lost 1-0 to Chelsea in Porto.

De Bruyne says he has no hard feelings or feelings towards the disappointment of the campaign. He puts the teams great form this season down to team chemistry.

The connection is so good, so comfortable. “Sometimes every team falls down in training or whatever, but I think it’s also necessary to build a good group,” says De Bruyne.

But like I said, I feel like the group has always been really good together, no matter what moment it happened or what happened, good or bad, it’s always been pretty good together.

I never feel that many egos or people distance themselves in one way or another. I’ve been here for eight years and it’s been pretty incredible for me.