The Belgian midfielder is a special guest on the latest official Man City podcast with hosts Liam Loftus and former striker Paul Dickov as he talks us through his career.
De Bruyne is now in his 10th season at the Etihad Stadium and is one of our most decorated players, winning 16 major trophies including six Premier League titles and the Champions League.
And he says that every player knows they have to deserve their place in the squad with competition fierce for starting positions.
“In the 10 years I’ve been here, I’ve seen many great players, but I’ve not seen many egos,” said De Bruyne on the podcast, which will be available to CITY+ subscribers from 18:00 (UK).
“I feel like everybody knows that everybody’s important.
“I know that if I can’t play for three weeks and I know that if the guy who plays in my position plays really good, he deserves it.
“So I need to know to handle myself in the right way towards my team-mates and everybody else to conduct yourself right on and off the pitch. It makes life so much easier.
“Sometimes there’s bust-ups, but there has to be arguments or fights or whatever but it never goes outside and I love it.”
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De Bruyne is now the longest serving member of the squad having joined from German side Wolfsburg in 2015.
He said he is happy to help the younger players to adapt to life at City and that enjoying time at the Etihad is the most important thing.
“It’s a natural process,” our number 17 added. “I think when you’re 24, no one comes to you, you got to Vinnie [Kompany] or David [Silva] or Fernandinho. These are the guys that have been here a long time. I came here with Joe Hart, these were the legends of the club.
“Now sometimes the young players ask me about how things go at this club or they look at you, how you conduct yourself and how the club works.
“I don’t feel like a constant, I’m just a part of City and I take it as it comes.
“I’m just enjoying my time and I’m getting a little bit older, I know that, but I feel good and that’s the main thing.”
De Bruyne added that he feels great after going to the European Championship with Belgium before having a summer break with his family.
Last season, he missed six months of the season after surgery on a hamstring injury and says people expected him to pick up his best form.
While he made an instant impact on his return against Newcastle, scoring and setting up a late equaliser for Oscar Bobb, it took some time to get up to full match fitness.
“I feel like being out for six months, people think you come back and you’re going to be like this (perfect),” De Bruyne said.
“Obviously, Newcastle was great but then there were some games when my body was really hurting because I’ve not done this for six months.
“I knew that after these pains from coming back, I knew I needed a really good Euros where I was physically top and then a break.
“And now I feel I’m back to what I was before so let’s hope it keeps going.”
Listen to the full ‘In conversation with Kevin De Bruyne’ from 18:00 (UK) today, via your CITY+ subscription.
