The Belgium international men’s soccer team’s success at the 2018 FIFA World Cup was credited to the players’ tenacity and sheer will to succeed. Although they finished 3rd, Belgian fans were more than happy that their beloved team had left the four-year competition with some accolades. One of the players who played a big role in the Belgian team’s successful performance is Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. Let’s learn more about him…
Kevin De Bruyne Bio (Age)
The soccer star was born in Drongen, Ghent,Belgium, on June 28, 1991 to Herwig and Anna De Bruyne. Passionate about football, Kevin joined his hometown club KVV Drongen’s Youth Academy at the age of six, where he trained until 1999. He continued his youth career at Gent where he stayed from 1999 to 2005 before moving to Genk. In 2008, Genk earned Kevin De Bruyne his long-awaited promotion to the first team. He made his senior debut in a match against Charleroi against Genk, but he had to wait until 7 February 2010 to score his first senior goal for the club. Among other things, he helped the club to a Belgian league title in the 2010/11 season.
Kevin De Bruyne then joined English club Chelsea in 2012. He was almost immediately loaned out to Werder Bremen in Germany as he had less time at Chelsea. In 2014 he penned a deal with Wolfsburg worth £18million. The following year, after joining Wolfsburg, he was voted Footballer of the Year for his huge success in the 2014/15 season, in which he scored 16 goals and provided 17 assists. On 30 August 2015, Kevin De Bruyne signed a record six-year deal with Manchester City worth around £54m.
De Bruyne first represented the Belgian national team in 2008 at U18 level. He then appeared in the U19 and U21 teams. In 2010 he made his first full international debut for Belgium. Since then he has been part of the national team that finished in the last eight at both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016.
Injury and career statistics
A player being injured on the field is not an uncommon occurrence in football. Kevin De Bruyne is battling a slew of injuries himself before taking months off to fully recover. Sometime in October 2010, while he was in Genk, he had mononucleosis, which ruled him out for about 49 days. In November of the following year he was out for about 3 days because of influenza.
The 2018/2019 season at Manchester City was his worst batting season. Kevin was sidelined 63 days after suffering a knee ligament injury. Barely two weeks into his recovery, he was banned for an additional 43 days due to a ligament injury sustained on November 1, 2018. On December 27, 2018, he suffered another stroke that lasted about 5 days.
Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne has enjoyed a successful career so far at both club and national levels. In his senior career at Genk he made 113 appearances for the club. He found the back of the net 17 times. Shortly after joining Chelsea in 2012, he was loaned out to Werder Bremen where he made just nine appearances while only supporting his name.
At Wolfsburg, Kevin De Bruyne had an impressive season that resulted in interest from big clubs around the world. He had his club’s best tally with 20 goals and assisted in a total of 29 games in just 72 games. The move to Manchester City was a career boost for him. In over 380 appearances for the club, he has scored 85 goals while assisting in 55.
He represents his country at youth levelSeven times for U18, ten times for U19, once for U21 and twice for U21. He has won 68 caps for the senior national football team, including two World Cup appearances (2014 and 2018) and a UEFA Cup competition in 2014, among other competitions and friendlies. So far he has 27 assists and 15 goals to his credit.
His wife
Kevin De Bruyne started dating Michele Lacroix in 2014 shortly after splitting from then-girlfriend Caroline Lijnen, with whom he dated for three years. He is said to have split from Lijnen over allegations of infidelity.
Michele Lacroix gave birth to a son named Mason Milian De Bruyne to Kevin on March 10, 2016. They later married in Italy in June 2017.
Altitude and other facts you should know about De Bruyne
1. Kevin De Bruyne is 181 m tall which is exactly 5ft 11in. That’s average enough for a midfielder. He has a well built physique which is to be expected from an athlete. This helps him in his mobility and in his ball-winning ability.
2. De Bruyne is also a Burundian citizen. His mother, Anna De Bruyne, although of English nationality, was born in the East African country.
3. He is multilingual. His hometown Drongen is the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Kevin is fluent in Dutch, French and English.
4. KDB, as he is often referred to by his fans around the world, launched his own clothing line called KDB in 2014 in collaboration with fashion label Cult Eleven.