Top 10 Facts about Belgian Football Star Kevin De Bruyne

 Kevin De Bruyne Playing For Manchester City. Author Brad Tutterow. Wikimedia Commons

Top 10 Facts about Belgian Football Star Kevin De Bruyne

The Belgian International and great Manchester City player are considered by many football greats as the best-attacking midfielder in the world of football. Armed with His creativity, class, and his ability to send the final pass to his teammates, de Bruyne has achieved numerous successes with Wolfsburg, Manchester City, and Belgium National teams.  He surely is a fan favorite and many would be eager to see how far he goes during the world cup.

1. The Year 2020 Has Seen The Best Of De Bruyne So Far

Kevin De Bruyne Playing for Manchester City. Author Brad Tutterow. Wikimedia Commons

Since joining Manchester City, De Bruyne has grown to be a sensational player.  The peak of his game came in 2020. Although Manchester City failed to win any silverware in the 2019-2020 season, the Belgium ace had the best year of his career individually.  He helped his team finish the premier league as runners-up with his incredible 20 assists in 2019-2020. This placed him as the joint-best stats in the history of the Premier League and tied him with Arsenal Legend, Thierry Henry.

At some point with his exemplary performances, many considered him as one of the favorites to win the 2020 Ballon D’or. Though the ceremony was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic and City was shockingly eliminated by Lyon in the quarter-finals of the 2019-2020 Champions League, the Belgium midfielder maestro won the award for the best player of the premier league season. This has catapulted him into the world stage.

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2. Kevin Was Eligible To Play For Burundi National Team

A naturalized Belgian citizen, Kevin De Bruyne Childhood was all about traveling and playing football. While his father was a businessman working in the oil industry, his mother was a petroleum engineer. One cool fact about Kevin’s mother is that she was born and raised in Burundi, an east African Country.

 It is said that Kevin’s mother, Anna De Bruyne was a professional in Petroleum Engineering and spent most of her initial years in the east African country before moving to Europe after marrying with Kevin’s father, Herwig. As a result of his mother’s origins, Kevin was eligible for playing for Burundi national team, but eventually decided to represent Belgium.

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3. Kevin Had An Interesting Upbringing

Kevin De Bruyne 2013. Author Opihuck. Wikimedia Commons

Young Kevin was so playful growing up in the garden of their home and because he would destroy a lot of plants, he was ordered to play with his weaker foot by his parents. Their disciplinary decision paid off though as the Belgium star grew up to become a rare two-footed player.

Quite an ambitious young lad at the time, at age 11, Kevin decided on his own to study Latin for two years and then concentrate on his football career. He stuck to his plan and three years later he left his parents’ home to join Genk’s academy.  The midfielder is multilingual and is fluent in Dutch, French, German and English.

4. He Is Playing In His Second World Cup

Kevin De Bruyne vs USA. Author Erik Drost. Wikimedia Commons

Although still young, on the international level, the Belgian has played 74 games for the Belgium national team and has scored 19 goals. His most important goal for the national team was arguably his screamer in the 2-0 win against Brazil which sent Belgium into the 2018 World Cup semi-final. We look forward to him scoring more goals in this year’s edition of the world cup in Qatar.

Read more in Controversial Facts About 2022 World Cup

5. He Is Very Calm And Not Emotional Both On And Off The Pitch

A calm Kevin De Bruyne. Author Kirill Venediktov. Wikimedia Commons

Despite winning plaudits for his phenomenal conquests, De Bruyne is often the calmest player on the pitch. With very few yellow cards, this is a man who rarely displays his emotion on the field and is quite subdued even after scoring spectacular goals. Therefore, irrespective of being one of the stars of the season, the ‘humble’ De Bruyne maintains a cool and calm demeanor on and off the pitch. Nothing excites him more than scoring goals that’s why he often comes across as a phlegmatic character. He is also said to reply to WhatsApp messages in a very dry manner earning the name “tumble dryer” from his friends.

6. He Has Had Alterations With His Teammate Because Of His Girlfriend

Previously, he had a girlfriend called Caroline Lijnen, a relationship that lasted three years. However, the relationship had a very controversial ending as Kevin caught Caroline while cheating with his Belgium national teammate and Real Madrid Goalkeeper, Thibou Courtois.  Kevin’s relationship with Caroline ended right there but the feud between him and Courtois had just began.

In one incident, De Bruyne was so furious with Courtois that he violently attacked him in one of national team’s trainings. Caroline later defended herself by stating that Kevin was the one who betrayed their relationship first and famously said that Courtois gave him more in one night than Kevin had given in three years.

7. He Also Boasts Of Having His Own Clothing Line

Clothes. Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

Like other superstars in the world, in 2014 Kevin De Bruyne decided to venture into the field of clothing and fashion design. It is called KDB and is in partnership with clothing label Cult Eleven. It is reported that a portion of the products is sent to the Special Olympics that is responsible for helping people with special abilities through the sport in which Kevin has been involved for some time.

Football stars, because of their massive global appeal, continually strive to translate their popularity into successful businesses. CR7 by Cristiano Ronaldo, A-Z by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and FIVE Supply by Rio Ferdinand are a few of the popular clothing brands owned by footballers.

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8. He Is A Conservationist

This would come as a surprise but the attacking midfielder, who had more assists than Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014-15, is a nature nut. KDB as he is fondly referred to, makes the most of his time off walking in the country and observing the wildlife. The avid conservationist was appointed as the ambassador of Weltvogelpark bird sanctuary in August 2014. The sanctuary in Walsrode, Germany, is the biggest in the world, home to 675 different species.

On his appointment, De Bruyne said: “I hope I can help the plight of endangered species of birds and bring more attention through my sponsorship.”

9. He Has Also Published His Own Book Has his own book

Kevin De Bruyne’s biography, titled ‘Keep It Simple’, co-authored by Raoul de Groote, was released in October 2014. He actively participated in the writing of his book, which is a candid account of the footballer’s professional and personal life.

“During his entire football career, Kevin De Bruyne remained himself: an ordinary boy, who likes to ‘keep it simple’, both in his private life and in the field. A young man with a Ghent father and an English mother, with an opinion and a will of his own. A man with a story “read the first press text around the book. His parents also revealed that their son liked to keep things simple, hence the title of this book.

10. He Is Remembered For Some Interesting Quotes

He is remembered for some interesting quotes on football in general. These include:

“In the end, for me, football is still a game. Even if you are a professional, you need to have fun when you are on the field. If you don’t enjoy your job, you don’t have fun.”

“There are always new challenges in football. You just need to adapt; otherwise, you won’t fit in. And if you don’t fit in, then you will have to go somewhere else.”

On his style of football:

“I am used to playing in six different positions in my career, so that’s not an issue for me. I have always changed positions, and I don’t expect any different. It’s all the same to me. It’s all about the way you interpret it.”

“If you do an outside spin with the ball, it’s more difficult to control it, so I try to pass it in a way that allows them to take the ball quicker in their path. That way, they may have more of an advantage to score or create themselves.”

“When I was little, I was always going to the goal. I’ve always wanted to score and create something, and I think it’s always been within me to play offensively.”

“When you score, it’s a great feeling, but to give a great pass means it’s something special for me. It’s very under-rated what we do.”