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Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne has said that he still has the hunger to win the Premier League despite already lifting the trophy five times in the last six seasons.
The Belgian midfielder moved to the Etihad from VfL Wolfsburg in 2015 for £55 million and has since become one of the best midfielders in the world. He has registered 100 goals and 167 assists in 372 club games for City, winning 19 titles in the process.
All five of his Premier League triumphs have come under Pep Guardiola and he is eager to add to it at the end of this campaign. Manchester City notably won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history last season.
Given their relative lack of success in Europe as compared to some of the other European giants, City would have extra motivation to succeed in UEFA competitions. Moreover, winning the Champions League comes with extra bragging rights, given it is the premier competition for the continent's biggest clubs.
With this in mind, De Bruyne was asked whether he would rather win the Premier League or the Champions League this term. He told TNT Sports after his team's 4-2 league win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday (April 6):
"Maybe the Champions League. It's hard to say. I'll take any", (via SportBible).
Rio Ferdinand then jokingly commented that De Bruyne was bored of winning the league title. The 32-year-old Belgium superstar responded:
“No, no I'm not bored. If we were bored we would not push like today. We'll see."
City can, of course, win both competitions once again this season after winning the treble in the previous campaign. They are scheduled to face 14-time winners Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals later this month.
Pep Guardiola praises Kevin De Bruyne after Manchester City's win
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Kevin De Bruyne after the midfielder's vital role in the win against Crystal Palace.
The Belgian scored in the 13th minute via a stunning long-range shot into the far corner to cancel out Jean-Philippe Mateta's third-minute opener. Rico Lewis put the visitors in front just 90 seconds into the second half before De Bruyne's simple pass from the byline was turned in by Erling Haaland (66').
The former Chelsea midfielder then started and finished off a sublime City move four minutes later with a rasping left-footed volley. Apart from his direct contributions, he finished the match with four key passes, three shots, and five recoveries.
The Spanish tactician praised De Bruyne after the match and said, via the aforementioned source:
"Without him [Kevin De Bruyne], we would not be able to win this. You talk about managers but players like Kevin make this game easy. He has been one of the best players in the history of City. To sustain this for nine years at City, and have that consistency is amazing. The first goal is unbelievable. The assist is unbelievable. Really good."
Despite missing a big chunk of the season with a hamstring injury, De Bruyne is now up to 14 assists and four goals in 16 games across competitions this term. City, meanwhile, sit third with 70 points from 31 matches — trailing leaders Arsenal by a point. Liverpool are level on points with the Cityzens with a game in hand.
