Chelsea let Kevin De Bruyne go, then watched him become a Premier League great
Chelsea bought a young Belgian from Genk for a rumoured £7 million in 2012, loaned him out and sold him barely two years later. In Germany he set a Bundesliga assist record. Manchester City then paid a club-record fee, and Kevin De Bruyne spent a decade there winning six league titles and the Champions League.
Born on 28 June 1991, De Bruyne started at KVV Drongen near Ghent in 1997 and moved to KAA Gent two years later, where coaches drilled him in passing, shooting and dribbling. Growing up, he supported Liverpool and admired Michael Owen. He moved to Genk's youth system in 2005, debuted in 2009, and in 2010–11 added five goals and 16 assists in 32 league games as Genk won the Belgian title.
After signing for Chelsea he went on loan to Werder Bremen in 2012, and though José Mourinho promised him a future at Stamford Bridge, Wolfsburg bought him in January 2014 for £18 million. His 2014–15 season was extraordinary: two goals in a 4–1 win over Bayern Munich, a brace against Inter in the Europa League, 21 league assists, a new Bundesliga record, and a goal in the German Cup final win over Borussia Dortmund. He was voted Germany's footballer of the year.
City signed him on 30 August 2015 for a reported £55 million, then second only to Ángel Di María among British transfers. Over 422 appearances he helped City reach 100 points in 2017–18, the only Premier League team to do so, equalled the season assist record in 2019–20, twice won Player of the Season and was central to the 2022–23 treble. He came third in the 2022 Ballon d'Or voting.
He has earned more than 120 caps for Belgium, scoring 38 goals, and was named in the fans' dream team at the 2018 World Cup, where Belgium finished third. His City contract ran out in 2025, and that June he moved to Napoli without a fee.
Source: Kevin De Bruyne
