Paris: Kevin De Bruyne's rise to become one of the world's best attacking midfielders mirrors that of a Belgium team which surged to the top of the global rankings in 2015.
De Bruyne struck a team-leading five goals -- along with Eden Hazard -- to fire Belgium to the country's first European Championship finals since co-hosting the 2000 tournament.
He offered glimpses of his potential as the Red Devils reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup. But the ginger-haired midfielder's progression in the two years since has elevated him into an elite talent that persuaded Manchester City to shell out a club-record £54 million ($76 million/67 million euros) to sign him from Wolfsburg.
"It takes a special footballer to improve our squad and I have no doubt that Kevin is certainly one of those - he has all of the mental, physical, tactical and technical attributes required to fit straight in," said former City boss Manuel Pellegrini following De Bruyne's move in August last year.
However, De Bruyne's road to stardom has not come without the odd bump in the road since he broke into the professional ranks with Genk as a 17-year-old.
His performances in the club's 2010-11 Belgian title-winning season caught the eye of Chelsea who paid £6.7 million to bring De Bruyne to London, treading a similar path to international team-mates Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois.
He spent a prosperous 2012-13 season on loan with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga, but his joy was cut short after a miserable six months back at Stamford Bridge making just nine appearances under Jose Mourinho.
AFP
