Champions League final won’t define my career, says City’s De Bruyne

London — Kevin de Bruyne’s legacy will not be defined by the outcome of Saturday’s Champions League final, the midfielder said ahead of Manchester City’s showdown with Serie A side Inter Milan in Istanbul.         

De Bruyne has won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups at City but European success has eluded the Belgian, who came closest to lifting the trophy in 2021 when City suffered a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea in the final.

“It depends on who you ask [whether City’s status rests on winning the Champions League]. Most of the guys have been incredible anyway,” De Bruyne told British media.

“Will it help? Yes. But one 90 minutes doesn’t define a career. I am on about 700 games. One 90 minutes out of 700 doesn’t define my career. But obviously, it helps.”

City beat archrivals Manchester United 2-1 in the FA Cup final on Saturday to keep their bid for a historic treble rolling and will be favourites to beat Inter in this week’s Champions League final.

“We deserved to win. I am very happy and very proud,” De Bruyne said. “We should enjoy the next week and hopefully we can perform the best we can … Inter are a very good team. Finals are 50-50.

“It is always difficult. You have to manage these moments. There will be moments when it is tough, but in the big moments we try to do our job. Inter have great players and we have respect for them. They haven’t got to the final by beating easy teams.”

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi expressed his admiration for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City and said his side would have to be at their absolute best if they are to come out on top on Saturday.

After their fifth Premier League title in six seasons and FA Cup win at the weekend, Guardiola joined Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson as the only managers to win the English double more than once, having also achieved it in 2018-19.

With 11 victories in their past 12 matches across all competitions, Inzaghi’s side have also showcased impressive form. Inter triumphed in the Coppa Italia and the Italian Super Cup, boosting their confidence heading into the final in Istanbul.

“In modern football, there is before and after Guardiola, it will be very important for us,” Inzaghi said. “We will have to be careful to play a team game, we know we will be facing the best, with a fantastic squad and a coach who has marked an era.”

Inzaghi added that the match will be the most significant game of his career and is a worthy reward for the club’s season as they recovered from a shaky start to finish third in Serie A.

“It will be an evening that repays us for all the efforts made during the year,” he said. “It has been a journey full of pitfalls but, in the last three months, when I have had deeper rotations to play, I think Inter have done great things.”

City go into the final as favourites and Inzaghi said his side will have to take whatever opportunities come their way if they are to win the tournament for the first time since 2010.

“The more you see it, the more you understand why they are getting these results. They’re a complete team, physical, technical, playing great football, doing great possession and great attacking,” he said.

“They have few weak points … we know we will have to be good at taking away some of their possession and covering every inch of the pitch. They are really good at covering spaces.”

Reuters