De Bruyne insists dropping title to Arsenal will not change view on Man City season
Kevin De Bruyne reckons Manchester City deserve the ultimate respect for being on the brink of winning a record fourth Premier League title on the spin.
The reigning champions have a two-point lead over Arsenal heading into the final day of the season this weekend. A win over West Ham at the Etihad would see Pep Guardiola’s men retain their crown and become the first side to ever make it four in a row.
Not even the great Manchester United sides under Sir Alex Ferguson managed this achievement. City can also make it a Double if they beat United in the FA Cup final, to follow on from landing the Treble last season.
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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns in a huge clash this month with each fighter attempting to etch their names in boxing history as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999. The stakes couldn’t be higher as the pair will go head to head for the prestigious WBC, WBA, WBO, and IBF titles.
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De Bruyne insists he wouldn’t think any less of his side if the unthinkable happened on Sunday and they didn’t get over the line. And he wants people to acknowledge how hard it is for a side to put themselves in this position in the first place.
The Belgian superstar said: “You have to appreciate what you do throughout the whole year to be in this situation. People always talk about trophies, but we work for 11 months to get to this situation and if you don’t enjoy it along the way, what does it really mean?
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“That one game, if we win or don’t win, it’s not going to change how I feel how well we did this season. I know there’s a lot of talk afterwards, but the way I see it is that this team has done incredible after the successes we’ve had in the last few years. It’s credit to the whole team to be in this situation again.”
De Bruyne admits he never dreamt of going on to win five league titles when he joined City back in 2015 – let alone SIX. He said: “When I came here, it was a very different team. A team full of legends who won before and an older team.
“In Pep’s first season, a lot of people were in their 30s, so we needed a rebuild and I was probably one of the first pieces at the time. I would have never expected to win five titles, or all the things we have done. It’s been pretty incredible.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The midfielder respects the challenge Arsenal and Liverpool have put up, but knows City are a special team because of a special manager – Guardiola. He added: “We’ve fought so many battles with Liverpool before, Arsenal last year, and both of them this year.
“It’s hard because you have to almost be perfect for a long time to have a chance to win the title. It’s been a good fight. I respect the other teams, they do a great job but obviously we want to do it again and we know what we have to do on Sunday.
“The most important person is Pep. He’s the boss and he sets the way for the team. He sets the basic standards – and you follow that.
“He created this team, and the team responds to him. It works together.”
