Kevin De Bruyne is eight seasons into Manchester City’s increasingly epic quest and summed it up in eight words. “We just haven’t done the end bit yet,” said the only man ever to captain City in a Champions League final. The end has instead come in one final, two semi-finals, three quarter-finals and a last-16 tie in his time at City. For De Bruyne, who turns 32 in June, the end could come with arguably the greatest player in City’s history having the bittersweet tag of the best footballer of his generation to never win the Champions League.
Take the view that Kylian Mbappe – and his City teammate Erling Haaland – are in a younger generation and there is the sense that De Bruyne is the odd man out, the one lacking the most coveted medal in the club game. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won the Champions League. So have Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez and Neymar. His long-time Belgium colleague Eden Hazard was at least an unused substitute in Real Madrid’s final win last year. De Bruyne, in contrast, exited the 2021 final with concussion and in tears after a shuddering collision with Antonio Rudiger. City lost.
