'A sad day, a happy day' - Pep Guardiola believes Kevin De Bruyne will get an Etihad Stadium statue after midfielder announces decision to leave Man City this summer

After taking in 10 memorable years with the Blues, Belgian midfielder De Bruyne has revealed that he will be leaving as a free agent when his contract expires this summer. He will walk away as a modern day legend in the Premier League.

De Bruyne has won everything with City, including the Champions League, and is assured of a standing among the immortals on the blue half of Manchester. That should, at some stage in the near future, earn him a permanent monument outside the ground that he has graced with such distinction during an era of remarkable success.

Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Mike Summerbee, Colin Bell and Francis Lee all have statues at the Etihad. Quizzed on whether De Bruyne will get that treatment, Guardiola told reporters: "Listen, I don't know, but I would bet a lot of money that it is going to happen, that's for sure."

De Bruyne has been a talismanic presence for Guardiola throughout his trophy-laden reign as City manager, and the Catalan coach said of seeing another iconic figure move on: "A sad day. A happy day for the pleasure personally that I will leave with him. He gives all of us humility and his influence in our success over the last decade - that would have been impossible to imagine without him.

"A sad day because one of us is leaving. When Vincent left, or Sergio left, or David Silva left, these players with their contribution. It’s a sad day. But we still have 10 games and hopefully 11 that we can enjoy with our fans. He will get, I’m sure, the love."

De Bruyne has taken in over 400 appearances for City and could bid farewell with another winners’ medal to his name as Guardiola seeks to end what has been a testing 2024-25 campaign with FA Cup success.