Now in his ninth season at the Etihad and a huge influence in what has proved the most successful period in the Club’s history, the midfield maestro knows better than most what it takes to win trophies.
Having made a welcome return to action at the start of the year after almost five months out with a hamstring injury, De Bruyne was afforded his first start since early August in Wednesday’s 3-1 Etihad win over Burnley.
What was an eighth straight success across all competitions lifted Pep Guardiola’s side back up to second place in the Premier League table, within touching distance of leaders Liverpool.
With also through to the last 16 of both the FA Cup and Champions League, there are already exciting echoes of last season’s historic Treble campaign.
But rather than look too far ahead, De Bruyne says the ravenous hunger and appetite for success which Guardiola instils in each and ever player will be the defining factor once more in our quest for success.
“The team pushes each other to win games and win trophies – that’s the standard,” De Bruyne pointed out.
“When everybody is on that level – physically and mentally – the talent is there.
“If you work hard, we will win more games than we lose.
“Obviously, we’re not done yet and we need to do more and win more games.
“[Now] it’s about winning the next game. There’s no point thinking about winning titles or trebles.
“We need to focus and prepare ourselves to be in the best condition on Monday and Brentford – that’s never easy, what comes after, we’ll see.”
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Wednesday’s victory also saw De Bruyne serve up another sumptuous assist, via a superbly worked first-half free-kick, for Julian Alvarez’s wonderful second goal of the evening.
It took De Bruyne’s total number of Premier League assists for City to 104 and, in the process, saw him overtake Wayne Rooney to go third in the all-time rankings with only Cesc Fabregas (111) and Ryan Giggs (162) now ahead of him.
However, though happy to contribute in such a meaningful way, De Bruyne insists that team silverware rather than individual accolades are what continue to motivate him.
“Obviously, it’s great to be around these players [Ryan Giggs and Cesc Fabregas] who have played so many games and played for the biggest teams also,” the Belgian added.
“It means that I’m doing a good job providing for my team-mates.
“Obviously, I need them to score for me otherwise I don’t get them [assists].
“In nine years, I’ve won many things and that’s what I want to do – this [the assists] is a bonus.”
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