Manchester City are preparing to travel across the city to face their bitter rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Cityzens are currently fifth in the table and are fighting to secure a place in the Champions League for next season, to ensure that they do not drop down to the Europa League spots.
This clash with Ruben Amorim’s side is not only important within the context of the Premier League, though, as it will also be the final Manchester derby for Kevin de Bruyne.
The long-serving Belgian superstar announced on Friday that this will be his final season at The Etihad and he will be moving on from the club when his current contract expires in the summer.
De Bruyne will leave Manchester City a couple of months short of ten years since his £55m transfer to the club from Wolfsburg back in the summer of 2015.
The Belgium international’s exit will leave a big hole in Pep Guardiola’s squad because he has been a key player for the Premier League champions for so many years.
Why Kevin de Bruyne is a Manchester City legend
Since joining from Wolfsburg, De Bruyne has cultivated a reputation for being one of the most feared creators in the history of the English top-flight.
At the time of writing, the 33-year-old magician has racked up 118 assists in the Premier League – a tally that comes second only to Ryan Giggs (162) in the history of the league.
The experienced wizard has scored 106 goals and provided 174 assists in 413 appearances in all competitions for Manchester City to date, which shows that he has consistently contributed as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a central midfield position.
De Bruyne will leave the club having won six Premier League titles in ten seasons at The Etihad, heavily contributing to those successes with his immense quality at the top end of the pitch.
24/25
20
2
6
23/24
18
4
10
22/23
32
7
16
21/22
30
15
8
20/21
25
6
12
19/20
35
13
20
18/19
19
2
2
17/18
37
8
16
16/17
36
6
18
15/16
25
7
9
As you can see in the table above, the former Chelsea man has delivered a consistent stream of goals and assists when fit for the majority of his career at the club in the Premier League.
All of this contributes to why de Bruyne is a Manchester City legend, as he has been a top-class performer for a decade, but his powers are waning, as shown by his goal tally this season, and his value has plummeted as a result.
Kevin de Bruyne's current market value
At the time of writing (05/04/2025), the Belgian sensation’s current Transfermarkt valuation stands at just £23m, whilst he is also set to leave the club for £0 when his contract expires this summer.
His market value peaked at a whopping £128m in the summer of 2018 and has steadily declined in recent years, as the Premier League legend heads toward the end of his playing career.
His current market valuation of £23m places him 19th in the current Manchester City squad on value, behind the likes of Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes, and Vitor Reis.
This illustrates his natural decline, as his performances and value have regressed with age, and that is why it feels like the right time for him to move on when his contract expires at the end of the season.
He is still fairly highly valued, at £23m, though, and there is one former Manchester City starlet – at the other end of his career – whose value has soared past the Belgian’s.
Morgan Rogers came up through the City academy, after being signed from West Brom in 2019, before being sold to Middlesbrough for a reported fee of £1.5m in the summer of 2023.
Morgan Rogers' soaring market value
Since leaving The Etihad on a permanent deal almost two years ago, the England international’s career has skyrocketed and he is now worth even more than de Bruyne.
After just six months at Boro, Aston Villa swooped in to sign the forward in a deal that could be worth up to £16m in the January window at the start of last year.
Rogers has since established himself as a big star for Unai Emery at Villa Park and earned recognition on the international stage, with three caps for England to date.
The 22-year-old talent has racked up 15 goals and 12 assists in 59 appearances in all competitions for the Villans, including three goals and three assists in ten outings in the Champions League.
Rogers, as illustrated above, has achieved a lot in a short time at Aston Villa, which is also backed up by his statistics as he has provided a consistent stream of goals and assists from an attacking midfield position.
The English star, who pundit Jamie Carragher previously described as “unstoppable”, has proven that he can perform in the Premier League and the Champions League, which suggests that he could have developed into a star at Manchester City if he had been given more opportunities to shine.
Unfortunately, the Cityzens decided to cash in on him for just £1.5m before he had the chance to showcase his quality at the top level, and his rise since then proves that they messed up with that call.
At the time of writing, Rogers is valued at a whopping £42.5m by Transfermarkt. This means that his value has soared by a staggering 2,733% from the £1.5m that City raked in for his services from Middlesbrough less than two years ago.
Forget Foden: Pep already has the perfect De Bruyne replacement at Man City
Manchester City will lose Kevin de Bruyne this summer, handing Pep Guardiola a task to replace him.
ByEthan LambApr 4, 2025
This proves that Manchester City messed up when they decided to sell him because he is now worth £41m more and worth even more than de Bruyne, whilst delivering quality performances in the Premier League and the Champions League.