Kevin De Bruyne Lifted By Teammates In Emotional Send-Off After Bidding Goodbye To Manchester City; Video

Kevin De Bruyne’s final appearance at the Etihad Stadium was nothing short of emotional, as Manchester City fans, players, and staff paid tribute to one of the club’s greatest-ever midfielders. The Belgian maestro waved goodbye to the City faithful on Tuesday night after playing his last home game, rounding off a glorious career. The farewell came during City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth, where De Bruyne was substituted in the 69th minute to a thunderous standing ovation.

Hugging each of his teammates as he exited the pitch, he was visibly moved by the love pouring in from every corner of the stadium. De Bruyne’s teammates tossed him into the air post-match in a heartfelt show of appreciation.

After the final whistle, De Bruyne walked around the pitch hand in hand with his wife and three children as fans stayed behind to show their appreciation. A moving video tribute featuring messages from club legends played on the big screens, celebrating his ten-year journey that began when he arrived from Wolfsburg in 2015.

Kevin De Bruyne’s finalmessage for fans

De Bruyne addressed the fans with heartfelt words that showed his love for the club. He said,"Manchester is home, it is where my kids were born. I came here with my wife to stay for a long time, didn't expect it to be ten years, to do what we've done as a club. We've won everything, we made the club bigger and now they're going to take over.

I wanted to play with creativity, with passion, I wanted to enjoy football and I hope everybody enjoyed it. Everybody from inside and outside of the club made me so much better than I was before, it’s been an absolute honour to play with these guys. I've made friends for life, I'll be back for sure."

He continued "You just want to do well and win and when you win you want to win more. We've had six parades that have been incredible, to witness everything and all the moments with these teammates. It's been a pleasure."