Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is on the cusp of surpassing a Lionel Messi record when the Citizens face rivals Manchester United in a Premier League clash at the Etihad this Sunday.
De Bruyne recently notched four assists for teammate Erling Haaland in City’s dominant 6-2 FA Cup win over Luton Town.
This impressive performance brings his total assists in Europe’s top five leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1) to 202 since the 2013-14 season.
Notably, most of these (165) have come during his tenure with Manchester City, which began in the summer of 2015.
De Bruyne now sits just one assist shy of Messi’s tally in the same timeframe.
While Messi (with 203) primarily achieved this feat at Barcelona, De Bruyne has the potential to equal the record in 442 games – a remarkable 16 fewer appearances than the Argentine legend.