De Bruyne privileged to have worked with both Aguero and Henry after Man City star breaks Arsenal legend’s goal record
KEVIN DE BRUYNE feels privileged to have worked alongside two of the greatest goalscoring legends in Premier League history.
Just don’t ask him to compare Sergio Arguero and Thierry Henry!
De Bruyne provided the assist for the first goal of Aguero’s historic hat-trick at Villa Park yesterday, which saw the Argentine ace overtake Henry as the Premier League’s greatest ever overseas goalscorer with 177 goals.
He has also worked closely on the training ground with Henry, who was his coach with the Belgian national team.
But City’s Belgian playmaker would rather volunteer to play in goal for Aston Villa, than try to separate two of the greatest goalscoring geniuses in the history of English football.
In an echo of Mark Twain’s famous quote that “comparison is the death of joy", he said: "It's not always necessary to compare people.
“I’ve been playing with Sergio for five years, and the record he has speaks for itself.
“People also know about Henry, who was my coach in Belgium, so I know him a little bit personally.
“But it’s so difficult to compare them to each other.”
While the immaculate Henry provided French chic and Va Va Voom for advertisers as well as forthright views as a Sky Sports pundit, Aguero prefers to stay out of the spotlight off the pitch and has always been a bit of a silent assassin.
De Bruyne said: “The way Sergio acts is really good, you know.
“He's not somebody you hear about all the time. He just plays football and for the rest of the time he keeps himself to himself, so that's nice.
“But the records of both players speak for themselves. We should just be happy – and grateful - these guys played here.
“You know Sergio will have been here nearly ten years (when his current contract expires at the end of next season).
"So, to come and do this on a consistent basis in the Premier League – like Thierry Henry - for nine or ten years - is just unbelievable.”
Anyone who witnessed Aguero’s legendary last-gasp title-clinching goal against Queen’s Park Rangers, will know the Argentine striker has impeccable timing.
So we probably should have known he would mark his historic milestone with a hat-trick to set another Premier League record, as he scored the 12th treble of his stellar career to go one better than Alan Shearer, who managed 11.
De Bruyne revealed: “Sergio probably would know he was on the brink of the records.
“With social media and all the things that are said publicly, he probably knew about it.
"But it's nice for him to have scored a hat-trick to break the record and that is a really nice way to celebrate it.
“We’ve been playing well but when you take your chances like we did at Villa Park, it makes the game easier.
“We scored two or three from the first two or three chances and they had to open up a little bit. It’s just a shame we couldn’t keep a clean sheet.”
Pep Guardiola’s City are in the groove right now and have won nine of their last ten games in all competitions.
But De Bruyne says he was too busy having fun to worry about whether Sunday’s demolition of Aston Villa amounted to cruelty against Dean Smith’s strugglers.
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He said: "To be honest, you don't think about it that way.
“You try to concentrate on your game and play the best as possible.
“Before I joined City I had some games where I lost 5-0 or 6-0. It happens, you just pick yourself up and go again.”