Manchester City star Kevin de Bruyne once admitted that he was a boyhood Liverpool fan and idolised Michael Owen.
The Belgian playmaker has written his name into club folklore at the Etihad Stadium. Since arriving from Wolfsburg for a then club record £55m in the summer of 2015, he has played a key role in an unprecedented period of success.
He has won five Premier League titles, the Champions League, five League Cups and two FA Cups, whilst he also helped the club to what was an historic treble. Despite going on to become an iconic player in Manchester, De Bruyne actually used to support former title rivals, Liverpool.
“My favourite club is Liverpool and my favourite player is Michael Owen,” an 11-year-old De Bruyne admitted in old video footage whilst he was still at Genk. “And I would love to play there one day.”
Whilst De Bruyne at first admitted his Reds’ allegiance when he was still a child, he has actually doubled down on the claim more recently. Speaking to Match of the Day magazine back in 2019, he said: "I was a Liverpool fan.
“My family that live in England were all Liverpool supporters so I was, too. I loved Michael Owen because I was really small like him and quick, too.
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“I compared myself to him at the time. I liked [Zinedine] Zidane and Ronaldinho too – those really skilful players."
Despite being a Reds supporter, De Bruyne has actually stuck the knife in on the Merseyside outfit on a number of occasions in the past. He has made 17 career appearances against the Reds in all competitions and across that time has scored four goals and provided eight assists.
He has scored in four out of the last six Premier League games against Liverpool. De Bruyne also played a key role as Man City narrowly beat the Reds to the Premier League crown in both 2019 and 2022.
The playmaker might well be delighted to note that he has also been praised by his boyhood hero, with Owen ranking De Bruyne as the best passes to ever play in the Premier League. "De Bruyne, Scholes, Giggs, Beckham would be my order," the former striker claimed
"Scholesy had great vision. Not only could he play a ball, but he had great vision. Giggs probably didn’t have the long-range ping in his locker like a Beckham or a Scholes, but had unbelievable vision. Great vision."
De Bruyne next has a chance to play against Liverpool in the Premier League next season. The reigning champions welcome the Reds to the Etihad Stadium in November, before the return game at Anfield in March.
