“It depends who you ask!” – Kevin De Bruyne hits back at legacy-defining Champions League final notion

Manchester City’s vice-captain Kevin De Bruyne has hit back at those who believe the upcoming Champions League final could define his legacy in football.

The recently-crowned Premier League champions are just one win away from securing a historic treble of silverware this season, and claiming their first European title since Abu Dhabi’s project at the Etihad Stadium began over a decade ago.

Manchester City take on Simone Inzaghi’s Serie A giants Inter at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey on Saturday night, in what could be the final attempt at European glory for some of Pep Guardiola’s first-team stars.

Kevin De Bruyne is one of those names, as the 32 year-old looks to crown the twilight years of his professional football career with the greatest prize club level has to offer – but a prize he does not feel will have any impact on his footballing legacy.

Speaking after the 2-1 win over Manchester United in the Emirates FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon, the Belgian was asked whether success or failure in the upcoming UEFA Champions League final could have an impact on his legacy within the sport.

“It depends who you ask,” responded De Bruyne. “Most of the guys have been incredible anyway. Will it help, yes. But one 90 minutes doesn’t define a career. I am on around 700 games. One 90 minutes out of 700 doesn’t define my career. But obviously it helps.”

Despite words of caution when it comes to the threat to his legacy, De Bruyne went on to continue by stressing his desire to win European football’s greatest prize, and cement Manchester City’s place in English football history through winning a treble of trophies this season alone.

“I want to win the Champions League and I want to win the Treble but we were getting ready to win this game [FA Cup final]. We deserved to win. I am very happy and very proud. We should enjoy next week and hopefully we can perform the best we can.

The Manchester City attacking midfielder continue, “We have performed really well. We have been in so many quarter and semi-finals and two finals. We have been there most of the time.”

It has been yet another outstanding season for the Belgian, playing an instrumental role in the success already achieved by Manchester City’s latest squad of players, and offering two assists against the clubs bitter rivals during Saturday’s FA Cup final clash.

De Bruyne has registered a total of 48 appearances across all competitions, sparking a special partnership with goalscoring machine Erling Haaland, and scoring 10 goals and providing a further 28 assists in the process.

Delivering on European football’s biggest stage will be the greatest moment of the season for the Belgium international captain, but his cool, calm, and composed personality is likely to keep him solely focussed on the task at hand come kick-off this weekend.