On Saturday, Kevin De Bruyne called himself an 'old man in this game' and gave a defiant response to his recent drop in form.
Expanding on those observations, De Bruyne has opened up on his long-term Manchester City future, saying he will continue playing for as long as he is enjoying himself while admitting he is a perfectionist and will know when it is the right time to stop playing at the highest level.
De Bruyne is under contract at City until 2025, which will bring his stay at the Etihad to 10 years. The 31-year-old has come under the spotlight for a dip in his usual high standards of late, but he has since come out fighting to insist he has plenty more to give at the top level of football.
Expanding on his 'old man' comments, De Bruyne admitted he doesn't have a plan for when he will think about retirement.
"I know how it is. When you're 18, 19 you notice these things a lot more and you know where it comes from," he said. "When people talk about form and how people play, it's give and take. I know how to manage that. I don't know how long I'm going to play. As long as I'm having fun I will play football. Obviously there will be a day where it will end but I'm not able to think about that yet.
"I'm a perfectionist. Whatever I do in football or life, I will always want it to be 100 per cent. In that regard, if the time would come that is something I would think about but it's not necessarily now.
"If I think about it at this particular time I would like to stay as high as possible for as long as possible but that isn't only my decision. That's something to think about but give me a little bit."
De Bruyne also discussed the possibility of him moving into a deeper, more possession-based role in the future - just like former teammate Fernandinho did - but the Belgian joked he could never follow Fernandinho's example.
He said: "I'm not going to be fully the same. When I was 17 or 18 I played holding more for a couple of years and with the national team I played five years holding so I was one of the two mostly with Axel [Witsel]. I've no idea.
"People say when you get older you go lower and for me, it is the opposite. I've been low, up, left, right. I feel I change position less now because the coach is the same but whatever will come I will try and do the job but I will never be offended. I just do what I do.
"I will never be a Fernandinho, he's an unbelievable number six."
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