Salute to the legend! Official: Manchester City will erect the statue of De Bruyne at the Etihad Stadium

On May 21, Manchester City officially reported that Manchester City will pay tribute to De Bruyne's glorious decade of playing for the club by commissioning the production of special statues, in order to commemorate De Bruyne's legendary career at the Etihad Stadium.

The news was announced immediately after the penultimate home game against Bournemouth in the 2024/25 Premier League season. The game marked the last time De Bruyne appeared in Etihad in the Blue Moon jersey.

During the decade of glory playing for Manchester City, De Bruyne has played in more than 400 games, helping the team win 19 important trophys. He will embark on a new journey this summer. The packed Etihad Stadium paid a deep respect to one of the greatest players in the team's history with a warm tribute that continued throughout the game.

After experiencing this emotional night with the club's official host Natalie Parker, De Bruyne admitted that he was proud and honored to receive the special gift of the statue.

De Bruyne said: "This means that I will always be part of the club. In the future, when I return here with my family and friends, I will be here forever."

In addition to the statue being revealed, a special ceremony was held after the final whistle: De Bruyne received a framed jersey signed by all teammates and staff, a lifelong city season card, and Etihad's large screen played tribute video simultaneously. The award of this statue puts him side by side with many Manchester City legends. In 2021, the statue of former captain Kompany and David Silva was completed, commemorating their outstanding contributions to establishing Manchester City's status for more than ten years.

In 2022, the statue of the club's historical scorer King Aguero was unveiled, and his 9320 miracle goal won Manchester City's first Premier League trophy in 2012. In 2023, the latest statues are paid tribute to the legendary trio Mike Somerby, Francis Lee and Colin Bell, who have been playing for 30 years since the 1960s.

Now, de Bruyne's great achievements in the past decade will be forever in history through exclusive statues.