Kevin de Bruyne second only to Lionel Messi, says Man City boss Pep Guardiola
Last updated on .From the section Football
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he rates Kevin de Bruyne as highly as any player he has managed, with the exception of Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
The Belgian scored City's first goal in a 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
He now has 18 goals and 16 assists in 48 games for the Blues, who have begun the season with a club-record eight successive wins in all competitions.
Guardiola said: "Messi is on a table on his own. No-one else is allowed. But the table beside, Kevin can sit there."
Throughout his stellar coaching career, 45-year-old Spaniard Guardiola has managed some of the world's finest players, including Xavi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona and Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller at Bayern Munich.
De Bruyne has taken seven games to show his new manager how talented he is, and took just 15 minutes to score against Bournemouth, as he did in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford seven days earlier.
But it is the former Chelsea man's all-round contribution that has caught Guardiola's attention.
"Kevin is outstanding player," he said. "Without the ball he is the first fighter. With the ball he is clear. He sees absolutely everything.
"He makes the right decision in the right moment every single time."
De Bruyne is not one of the Premier League's off-field showmen. But, according to Guardiola, the 25-year-old is fiercely ambitious, and keen to win the major individual prizes that have been the preserve of Argentine forward Messi and Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo since 2008.
"I don't know him too much but from what I can see he is a guy who likes to be at home with his wife and kids," said Guardiola. "Before the game he is relaxed and quiet.
"He is one of the best, there is no doubt about that. We are lucky to have him.
"But to be the best, you have to win titles. Maybe I am wrong but I think he would like to win these individual prizes."
'He's gone to another level'
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer says De Bruyne's performances this season have reached "another level".
"He was good last season. He is very, very good this season," said the former England striker.
"I think he has gone to another level. His performances, not only today but this season, have been nothing short of spectacular.
"Without the ball he is very good; with the ball he is just superb. He starts a lot of moves off and is so clever. He is so comfortable, so in control. He started so many good things for them.
"It's absolutely superb from De Bruyne. He sees a picture before everyone else, he is a second or two ahead of everyone on that pitch."
Record breakers
Manchester City's eighth successive win - five in the Premier League, three in Europe - is the best start to a season, beating a record from 1897.
Guardiola rejects the theory his side are finding it easy, or that his players might start to take their form for granted.
"That is not going to happen when I am here," he said.
"I have heard for a long time the Premier League is the hardest league in the world. I am not going to accept now it is easy.
"We are in September. We have played absolutely nothing."
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" Seriously he's not a patch on CR7 and Suarez "
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You are spot on !
He doesn't sulk like CR7 . . . . . . . nor does he snack on defenders
if peckish during a game
.
But I should like to praise the modest attitude of these players (as well as Sagna, Clichy, Zab, Fernandinho et al.). Since Mario's nutty antics (and City fans did love him!), the team has focused on quiet professionalism and, in the end, that will bring success.
If flop Pogba is worth £89M then KDB must be worth at least £250M
JM let him go from Chelsea because he was a brat at the time and didn't want to fight for his place and no doubt JM wished he had managed it differently.
No denying KDB talent though, classy player.
People seemed to overlook his ability when he was voted PoTS in the Bundesliga as 'it isn't the PL'.
Now he is in the PL & probably the best player in it.
I think Pep is also starting to show the doubters that he is the best coach in world football!
It's a good start, but it will be very interesting to see how we perform when we face a proper top-flight side.
Still along way to go and CL hasnt really kicked in yet but they look out and out favourites at the minute.
Yeah, you've completely missed the point there... even after Johnboy subtly pointed it out...
Pep is comparing de Bruyne to players he has managed... he has not managed Ronaldo, Bale, Suarez, etc... so is obviously not saying de Bruyne is better than them... makes sense now...?
Besides it's an opinion... you can agree or disagree... but it is not a stupid thing to say...
"Your cold wet Tuesday night at Stoke will come soon enough..."
Stoke 1 City 4 was the result - but you probably missed that whilst looking for Pogba.