Kevin De Bruyne has discussed how his superstar status impacts his personal life, as well as what keeps him motivated at Manchester City.
De Bruyne is one of the best players in the world, has four Premier League winner's medals in his collection and is City's highest-paid player. To many, he appears to lead the perfect life, but it's easy to underestimate the impact such fame and fortune can have on family life.
In an interview with The Guardian, De Bruyne and his wife, Michele LaCroix, admitted that while the City star's game has gone from strength to strength since he made a £55million move to the Etihad in 2015, away from the pitch life has become very different.
"Football-wise, it’s got better and better," LaCroix said of her husband's move from Germany to England, "but then we could do more normal stuff. On a city trip, say, maybe two or three people would come up to us. Now, we’re more isolated.
"So you do more things at home with friends. Kevin has grown more open because we’re in such an intimate circle, always with the same group. He’s more comfortable with who he is."
The couple have three children - Suri, Mason and Rome - but it's difficult to give their children a 'normal' upbringing when De Bruyne is so famous.
"We have to live our life in a more secluded way. Often, if we go on a tour it will be a private tour, and most of the time this stuff is more expensive and more individual," De Bruyne said.
"When I’ve been driving to the club lately there have been people driving next to me and filming. People have followed me."
It's that kind of attention - rather than the ludicrous sums of money in the game - that De Bruyne believes changes players.
"If you go from no attention to wherever you go people give you attention, then that changes you," he added. "You either take everything in or block everything out. Some people like all the attention, but after a while it becomes so much you get eaten up by it. Then if you push it out you seem arrogant. It’s a thin line you have to walk."
Despite the difficult balance between fame and family, De Bruyne is just as motivated as ever, despite having already achieved so much at City. In August he came second in the UEFA Player of the Year award, and a few months later he was voted the third-best player in the world at the Ballon d'Or awards.
When asked how important those individual accolades are, De Bruyne hinted at his motivation. "It’s not important to be regarded as one of the best,” he said. "I want to be the best."
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