“De Bruyne is in the same category as Messi and Cristiano.” It is the striking phrase from Kyle Walker, the Belgian’s teammate at City, who does not hesitate to put him on par with two of the best in history. The debate in England, however, is more aimed at decide who is the best midfielder in Premier League history and the reality is that the Belgian, without a doubt, is in the conversation.
De Bruyne’s numbers are on par with those of other Premier League legends such as Patrick Vieira, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes and Steven Gerrardsurely the four most decisive midfielders who have gone through the English championship.
When comparing the five, it must be taken into account that the Belgian is still active and could expand his records. Not in vain, adding English and international (club) competitions, De Bruyne has a total of 391 games, far from the more than 700 games of Scholes or Gerrard and the 865 of Lampard..
But, despite this, compete head to head in numbers against all of them. Perhaps not so much in number of goals, where he has scored a creditable 103 goals. Here Lampard (252 goals) is the true king, the highest scorer of the five without a doubt. Behind them are Gerrard (186) and Scholes (155), both with a devastating long-distance shot, and Vieira (40), who is the most defensive profile of the five contenders.
Who is the best midfielder in Premier League history? / Infographic: Marc Creus
The king of assists
The one statistic in which De Bruyne is undoubtedly the best is decisive passes. Only Lampard, with 167 assists, surpasses the Belgian’s 163., and the current Manchester City player has played 474 fewer games in the aforementioned competitions. A real savagery.
Valuing the data in means for a better comparison, De Bruyne scores or assists every 110 minutes, being the most decisive of the five by far. Not even legends of English football like Lampard (167′), Gerrard (168′) or Scholes (219′) can come close to the Belgian’s impressive records.
When evaluating the titles achieved, Scholes benefits from Manchester United’s golden era to accumulate four international and 22 national trophies. However, De Bruyne is already in the wake of the Englishman, with three international titles and 14 won in England. . . . He has, therefore, surpassed Lampard (One international title and 11 national titles), Gerrard (Four international titles and seven national titles) and Vieira (11 national titles).
The best?
It is only a matter of time and games before De Bruyne surpasses the rest of the competitors in all statistics. In terms of play, the Belgian has already made it more than clear that he is at the same level (or above) as any other midfielder in the Premier League, being the emblem of one of the best teams in the history of the competition: Guardiola’s City.
Although the final decision cannot be made until Kevin retires from professional football, the reality is that for many people the citizen legend has already surpassed everyone and He is the best midfielder in the history of the Premier League.