After watching Kevin De Bruyne’s heroics on Tuesday night against Real Madrid, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry declared that the Belgian has the best football brain he has “ever seen.” Manchester City and Real Madrid drew 1-1 at the Bernabeu thanks to a brilliant goal from De Bruyne.
In pursuit of a first European Cup, Pep Guardiola’s team is now just one victory away from reaching their second-ever Champions League final. Henry believes that De Bruyne, 31, should be included in the list of all-time greats as the Belgian is also regarded as one of the top players in the Premier League right now.
Henry lavishes heavy praise on Kevin De Bruyne after salvaging City in Madrid
Given that Henry has previously played alongside players like Lionel Messi and Patrick Vieira, naming Kevin De Bruyne as the ‘best brain’ was an impressive compliment. In his two stints as Belgium’s assistant manager between 2016 and 2018 and 2021 and 2022, Henry had the opportunity to coach De Bruyne. During an appearance on CBS Sports for Tuesday night Champions League action, the legendary Arsenal player was questioned about the City midfielder. He said:
“I still think he’s the most important player in this team. I’ve come across a lot of players, played with a lot of players, saw a lot of players, played against some of the greatest. I think Kevin, his brain is the best I’ve ever seen, the way he sees the game. Because his brain is in some places, I don’t know what he thinks about sometimes, you look at him and it’s almost like he’s not with us because he’s that good.
“Sometimes it can be a problem because you’re not on his level, but I think he’s the most clever player I’ve seen in my life. It’s just second to none, the way he thinks. Because I saw him for six years on and off with Belgium, you love the man a bit more. Because I saw stuff he did in training and in games. He’s unbelievable. His brain, I’m still thinking about some stuff I’ve seen, he’s on a different planet and it wasn’t his best game tonight, but he delivered.”
Along with Messi and Vieira, Henry has also shared the pitch with players like Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Robert Pires, Gilberto Silva, David Trezeguet, Yaya Toure, Robin van Persie, Samuel Eto’o, and Eden Hazard throughout his career. Despite a glaring list of teammates he has had throughout his career across Arsenal, Barcelona, Juventus and France, it was astonishing to see Henry label Kevin De Bruyne as the best in the business.
In the 67th minute, Kevin De Bruyne decided to equal Vinicius Jr. after he gave Real the lead with a powerful shot. Even though City had to spend a large portion of the second half making sure they didn’t give up again, Pep Guardiola’s team started to get some confidence after an hour.
The Belgian remained composed and benefited from some outstanding pressing by Rodri, who skillfully won back possession for City in the final third as Real became frustrated on the touchline after a succession of legitimate penalty requests. Then, in a characteristic driving move, his Kevin De Bruyne beat fellow Belgium teammate Thibaut Courtois to tie the score. The return leg on May 18 at the Etihad is now nicely poised with score tied at 1-1.