Everything you need to know about the Belgian superstar!

Kevin De Bruyne was born in Ghent, Belgium on June 28, 1991. He grew up in Ghent and began playing football at a young age. He started his youth career at KVV Drongen and later moved to Gent. He then moved to Genk in 2005, where he spent six years developing as a player before moving on to the senior team.

De Bruyne made his professional debut for Genk in 2008 and played for Chelsea, Werder Bremen, and Wolfsburg before joining Manchester City in 2015.

De Bruyne is known for his technical ability, vision, and creativity. He has excellent passing accuracy and is a skilled dribbler, able to create chances for his teammates and score goals himself.

The Manchester City star has won numerous individual awards throughout his career, including the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Premier League Playmaker of the Season. He has also helped his teams win multiple league titles and domestic cups.

But what are the 13 things you absolutely need to know about the midfielder?

Was eligible to play for Burundi

De Bruyne was eligible to represent both Belgium and the Burundi national team. His mother Anna was born in the African nation before moving to Europe. He ultimately made his international debut for Belgium in 2010 in an international friendly against Finland.

Advertisement ‘Keep it simple’

The Belgian's autobiography, named 'Keep it simple' was published by Borgerhoff & Lamberigts in October 2014. He himself had co-written the book.

GettyA punishment turned boon!

De Bruyne is widely regarded as a highly-skilled two-footed player. He can use both his left and right foot effectively and has been known to take shots, make passes, and cross the ball with either foot, making him more unpredictable and difficult to defend against.

But it would not have been possible had his parents not forced him to use his weaker foot while playing in the backyard of their house. It so happened that De Bruyne used to practice and kick the ball so hard with his right foot that he regularly damaged his parents' plant pots, forcing the couple to make a rule for him that he could only use his weaker foot to take shots.

A successful businessman

In 2014, De Bruyne started his own clothing line called 'KDB' in partnership with the clothing label Cult Eleven. A portion of the profits from the line is donated to the Special Olympics – an organisation he has spent a lot of time working with throughout his career.