'I will always be here' – De Bruyne to be honoured with statue after Man City farewell
Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva already have statues outside the Etihad Stadium, and they will be joined by Kevin De Bruyne.
Kevin De Bruyne was honoured by Manchester City's announcement that he will have a statue erected outside the Etihad Stadium, following his farewell appearance against Bournemouth on Tuesday.
City closed in on Champions League qualification with a huge 3-1 victory, with Omar Marmoush, Bernardo Silva and Nico Gonzalez scoring.
Despite enduring a miserable Premier League title defence, City now know a draw at Fulham on the final day of the season will surely be enough to secure a top-five finish.
After full-time, City waved farewell to one of the greatest players in their history, with De Bruyne preparing to depart after the club opted against renewing his contract.
The Belgian missed a huge chance to sign off in style in the first half, rattling the crossbar with the goal gaping from an opportunity with an expected goals (xG) value of 0.82.
But that could not put a dampener on his outing, with City honouring De Bruyne with a farewell ceremony and announcing that he will be immortalised outside the stadium, alongside former team-mates Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva.
"It means I will always be part of this club," De Bruyne said. "I always represent a small piece of that.
"Whenever I come back with these guys and with family and friends, I will be able to see myself standing around the stadium. I will always be here.
"We understand where the club has come to and why the club means a lot to a lot of people.
"Together we've built a big future for you guys, for the club to perform the way this club will perform."
De Bruyne has won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five EFL Cups and the Champions League since arriving from Wolfsburg in 2015.
Only David Silva (309) has bettered De Bruyne's 284 Premier League appearances for City, while he is second only to Aguero (231) for total goal involvements for the club in the competition (190).
The 33-year-old also ranks second in the Premier League's all-time assists charts with 118, behind Manchester United great Ryan Giggs (162).
By creating two chances on Tuesday, De Bruyne also moved level with Cesc Fabregas for the most goalscoring opportunities created in the league since Opta began recording such data in 2003-04, with 846.
De Bruyne was part of the City team that lost 1-0 to Crystal Palace in Saturday's FA Cup final, ensuring they will end a season without a major trophy for the first time since 2016-17.
But De Bruyne is sure City will be back, saying: "I know there's been a bit of a tough year for us, but I think the team deserves all the support from you guys.
"I know they're pushing really hard and this team will be back next year pushing for all the titles, so they deserve this."