“How wrong they were?!” – Kevin De Bruyne questions major Premier League decision

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has once again questioned the Premier League’s decision not to award a record-breaking assist in 2020.

De Bruyne, who helped Manchester City to a famous treble, won the Premier League Playmaker award for the third time in six seasons, after registering 16 league assists during the past campaign.

The 32-year-old also netted 10 goals last season, including a crucial brace against Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium, and the equalising goal against Real Madrid in Champions League semi-final first-leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.  

The Belgium international is expected to miss a significant part of the new campaign after undergoing surgery for a recurring hamstring problem, with the latest setback coming against Burnley on the opening weekend of the season.

De Bruyne recently became just the fifth player to register 100 Premier League assists, becoming the fastest player to the century, with an assist for Erling Haaland against Southampton last April.

The midfielder also shares the record for the most assists in a Premier League campaign with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, having equalled the record against Norwich in 2020.

The record, initially set in 2003, could have however belonged solely to De Bruyne, amid continued controversy regarding an assist against Arsenal during the the Belgian’s record-equalling campaign.

Premier League authorities ruled against awarding the 32-year-old the assist, something De Bruyne disputed during a recent interview.

“Yeah 20 [assists in the 2019/20 season]. They still took one away against Arsenal,” he told the Premier League.

“They took one away and then when they celebrated my 100th assist, they put it as the first clip in the video. Can you imagine, how wrong they were?!”