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The day that changed Kevin De Bruyne's life as the long road to success pays off for Manchester City star
Kevin De Bruyne made the best decision of his life four years ago today.
It was on January 18, 2014, that Wolfsburg paid €25million to recruit the young Belgian from Chelsea.
He left the Blues having started just five matches and failing to prove himself worthy of a place in Jose Mourinho’s plans.
The easy thing to do would have been to wait it out at Chelsea, pick up his decent pay packet, and enjoy the London lifestyle.
That thought never entered the midfielder’s mind.
De Bruyne’s past is littered with examples of his unwavering will to succeed and push himself to reach new levels of brilliance.
This was even evident at the age of eight when he informed his VV Drongen coach he would be joining Gent because their training sessions were better.
Fast forward to 2012 and his time at Genk. The ginger-haired maestro showed he was not afraid to speak his mind and blasted his team-mates.
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“I’m ashamed of them,” he said in a television interview. “I suggest that those who don’t have a desire to play just leave.”
De Bruyne has never lost that desire to play and it was ultimately what led him to force through his Stamford Bridge departure.
Despite Mourinho’s clear reservations about the then 22-year-old, the Special One had no desire to sell him.
But De Bruyne was disillusioned after a lack of opportunities and a meeting was called with the manager and his agent.
“He showed us the stats of all attacking midfielders: assists, goals, pass percentage, decisive actions, dribbles,” De Bruyne explained.
“He wanted to prove that I didn’t perform at the same level as the others.
“I answered him: ‘Sorry, that’s not logical. I’ve played fewer games. How can you compare us?’ That wasn’t fair.”
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Mourinho had become tired with the constant questions from the media over the starlet and complained about his application.
“If you have a player knocking on your door and crying every day he wants to leave, you have to make a decision,” declared the Portuguese.
“He was not ready to compete. He was an upset kid, his training very bad.”
It wasn’t the first time somebody had questioned his character.
In his second year as a Genk player, the family who were playing host to the young De Bruyne informed the club they no longer wanted to house him.
His introverted character had come across badly and a shocked De Bruyne vowed to never it become a barrier to success.
It was clear after those showdown talks with Chelsea that De Bruyne had reached the end of the road with the January transfer window looming.
Wolfsburg, who had seen the player dazzle in the Bundesliga on loan at Werder Bremen the previous season, did not hesitate.
Knuckle
Now was the time to knuckle down and prove the doubters wrong – again.
He did just that in Germany and was named footballer of the year in 2015 alongside heaps of assists and goals.
His second full season would be his last with Wolfsburg as a return to his unfinished business in the Premier League beckoned.
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Manchester City paid a club-record £55million to bring him back to England and infuriate Chelsea fans who saw a missed opportunity.
He has gone on to become one of the most influential and creative players the Premier League has ever seen.
He still only has one medal to show for his time with City, a League Cup winners’ one, but that will all change this year.
Pep Guardiola’s side are still fighting on four fronts and De Bruyne is the man at the heart of their quadruple quest.
