UEFA Men's Player of the Year nominee: The case for Kevin De Bruyne
Thursday, August 31, 2023
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Kevin De Bruyne is one of the top three nominees for the 2022/23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
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Manchester City's creative spark Kevin De Bruyne is one of the top three nominees for the 2022/23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
UEFA.com analyses why he is in the running alongside club-mate Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi.
Why he was nominated
The 32-year-old reached new heights as he completed his eighth season at City by winning a landmark treble as the club secured a maiden Champions League triumph alongside their domestic double.
De Bruyne ended the Premier League campaign with the most assists (16) for the third time. He also laid on more goals (seven) than any other player in the 2022/23 Champions League – one more than Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior – and scooped the Player of the Match award in four of his ten appearances.
2022/23 in numbers
Achievements
UEFA Champions winner, Premier League winner, FA Cup winner
UEFA Champions League
Appearances: 10
Goals: 2
Assists: 7
Player of the Match awards: 4
Domestic League
Appearances: 32
Goals: 7
Assists: 16
Top three performances
Manchester City 7-0 Leipzig
City's round of 16 second-leg stroll was prompted by the Belgian, his thumping drive off the bar then being converted by Haaland to make it 2-0 before De Bruyne completed the scoring with a wonderful curling effort from distance.
Germany 2-3 Belgium
One week after being named the new Belgium captain, De Bruyne played in Yannick Carrasco and Romelu Lukaku for their first two goals before sweeping in the decisive third himself late on to sink the UEFA EURO 2024 hosts.
Manchester City 4-0 Real Madrid
The schemer was at his brilliant best as Pep Guardiola's men dismantled the Champions League holders in the semi-final second leg. His incisive pass allowed Bernardo Silva to open the floodgates while his pinpoint free-kick was headed in by Manuel Akanji to make it 3-0.
Who was last year's winner?
Karim Benzema was the 2021/22 UEFA Men's Player of the Year after winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and the UEFA Nations League with France. His final tally of 15 Champions League goals – including a joint-record ten in the knockout stages – earned him top spot in the competition scoring charts, with 27 in the Spanish Liga also a domestic best.
