Ruben Dias says Manchester City’s players are determined to give “unique and special” Kevin De Bruyne the send-off he deserves.
The 33-year-old star announced on Friday that he will be bringing the curtain down on his medal-laden decade at the Etihad Stadium when his contract expires this summer.
De Bruyne has won 16 trophies with City, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, and could finish with a 17th winners’ medal if Pep Guardiola’s men go on to lift the FA Cup.
A semi-final date with Nottingham Forest looms at the end of April, with team-mate Dias hoping to give the Belgium star a fitting farewell.
“His legacy is unique and special,” fellow treble winner Dias said. “I’ve won a lot with him – he’s such an important piece of the puzzle and we’ve become very good and special friends during this time.
“We want to give him the best moment and memories – obviously he has quite a few already – but we want to end it the best way possible, for all of us of course, but especially for him because he deserves it for everything he has done and for the person he is.
“As a player, he will always be held dearly for all of us. He’s a special player and person to all of us in the changing room and it’s about enjoying every second that we have left. There is still a lot to fight for.”
City are battling for Champions League qualification as well as FA Cup glory, with the team fifth in the Premier League standings after Sunday’s drab 0-0 derby draw at rivals Manchester United.
“It was a game to be strong and to suffer in certain moments,” defender Dias said. “We take the point because it cost us a lot of work and a lot of fight.
“It wasn’t easy to control because of the way they attack so wide and their transitions.
“I must say, though, I love going through it with my team-mates because the way we fought for every ball, every transition, every reaction. I feel like our team was very much alive in that sense.
“Obviously, there was more to be there in terms of being more dangerous in the second half and trying to win the game, but the way we fought until the end is what makes us who we are. We take this point.”
