The Weekly Take, Issue 363: Three Legends Sign Off

The end of the Premier League and La Liga seasons also meant the end of the stints of three of the all-time greats—two players and a manager—at their respective clubs. Luka Modrić and Kevin De Bruyne wrapped up their tenures of 13 and 10 years at Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively while in Real’s dugout, Carlo Ancelotti concluded his second spell at the helm of Los Merengues; his return to the Santiago Bernabéu took his total time spent in the role to six years.

All three were able to finish on a high note: Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad while Manchester City beat Fulham; both wins were by 2-0 scorelines. In Real’s match, a Kylian Mbappé brace was enough to secure Real’s victory; as for City, İlkay Gündoğan’s spectacular bicycle kick put them a goal ahead before half-time; after the break, Erling Haaland’s penalty made all three points safe.

However, given the events of the day as well as the fact that both teams had already clinched Champions League qualification for next season, the actual results of both matches seemed almost inconsequential - and understandably so. Modrić, Ancelotti, and De Bruyne leave as unquestioned legends of their clubs with impacts that will forever resonate at the Bernabéu and the Etihad Stadium.

Just a few months after Modrić signed for Real back in 2012, no one would ever have believed that more than a decade later, the Croatian would be leaving the club to a standing ovation from the entire Bernabéu and a guard of honour not only from his teammates, but even Real’s opponents on the day. His time in the Spanish capital certainly didn’t start as he’d hoped - such were his early struggles that Modrić was commonly cited as the worst signing of the 2012-13 seasons.

As the years passed, though, things would change. Modrić would cement himself as an indispensable part of the Real team which would win three consecutive Champions League titles from the 2015-16 to 2017-18 seasons and become not only one of the best midfielders in the world, but of all time. Modrić’s crowning achievement was, of course, winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018. He leaves Real having represented the club in almost 600 matches and having won four La Liga titles and a joint-record six Champions Leagues.

Having coached Real to the Champions League title in 2013-14 before being somewhat surprisingly fired after a trophyless season a year later, Ancelotti returned in the 2021 off-season with unfinished business - and it didn’t take him long at all to right that wrong. In his first season back at the Bernabéu and third overall, Ancelotti helmed yet another Champions League title run to go with a La Liga title - the fourth Champions League of his career including the two he won with AC Milan in the 2000s.

Two years later, Ancelotti would once again take Real to a league and Champions League Double. With five Champions League titles under his belt, Ancelotti leaves to take over as the Brazil national team’s new head coach as clearly the greatest of all time - at this point there isn’t really a reasonable case to be made for anyone else anymore.

Over in England, De Bruyne’s final match for City came as a substitute to a rousing reception, entering to a standing ovation of his own. A decade ago, De Bruyne arrived at the Etihad as one of the most promising young midfielders in the world, fresh off winning the Bundesliga’s Player of the Year award with VfL Wolfsburg in the 2014-15 season. De Bruyne soon emerged as one of the best midfielders on the planet; he was an integral part of six Premier League titles as well as City’s Champions League title run in the 2022-23 season - part of only the second Treble to be won by an English club.

Twice selected as the Premier League Player of the Season, De Bruyne played over 400 matches at City over his remarkable career. A statue of the Belgian which will stand outside the Etihad has now been confirmed to be in the works; it’s a well-deserved honour for a player who leaves as perhaps the greatest player in Manchester City’s history.

Although it remains to be seen just how Real Madrid and Manchester City will bounce back from their club icons’ departures, whoever replaces them will certainly have some of the biggest shoes to fill.

The Weekly Take, Issue 193: Back to Haunt Them Again

Manchester City's almost-complete dominance of the Premier League continued when they beat Chelsea 1-0 during the most recent league matchday. This time, it was a player once rejected by Chelsea who came back to strike another blow against his former club.

Kevin De Bruyne scored the only goal of the match to clinch the victory for the Citizens. City's victory extended their lead at the summit of the Premier League to 11 points. On the other hand, the Blues' loss saw them surrender second place in the league to Liverpool, who beat Brentford 3-0.

Even to this day, it remains almost inconceivable how Chelsea managed to let a generational talent like De Bruyne slip through their fingers. The Belgian's first season as a Chelsea player in 2012-13 was spent on loan at Werder Bremen. While in northern Germany, De Bruyne clearly established himself as a star of the future. The Belgian was named the Bundesliga's Young Player of the Year after almost single-handedly saving the club from relegation at the age of just 21.

Inexplicably, Chelsea took absolutely no notice of this and almost never fielded him after his return to Stamford Bridge. De Bruyne would feature in just three league matches during the first half of the 2013-14 season before being signed by VfL Wolfsburg for €22 million in January 2014. It would be at Wolfsburg where De Bruyne would emerge as a bona fide superstar. He was selected as the Bundesliga's Player of the Year in 2014-15 after leading Wolfsburg to second place in the league - their best finish since their astonishing league triumph in 2008-09. De Bruyne was also the driving force behind Wolfsburg's first-ever DFB-Pokal title in that same season.

Not long after, City came for De Bruyne's services and signed him for €75 million. The rest, as they say, is history. Almost seven years later, De Bruyne has now become a true City legend - easily one of the Manchester club's five best players ever with an argument for #1. He is rightly recognized as one of the best playmakers in the world not only today, but also of all time. To top it all off, De Bruyne has even arguably surpassed former Chelsea teammate Eden Hazard as the greatest Belgian player ever.

Chelsea's failure to retain De Bruyne is absolutely inexcusable. After being presented with the evidence of what he'd done in his one season on loan at Werder, it should have been obvious that De Bruyne was "that guy". For some reason, however, Chelsea chose to ignore the proof and left him behind Oscar, Willian, and André Schürrle in the pecking order. None of those players ever ended up being even close to De Bruyne's level. Undoubtedly, Chelsea's decision to give up on De Bruyne in 2014 has to go down as one of the all-time transfer fails.

Astonishingly, just a few months after De Bruyne's departure, Chelsea would repeat the same error with his compatriot. Over the preceding two seasons, Romelu Lukaku had established himself as a legitimate goalscoring threat in the Premier League. Lukaku had just finished a season on loan at Everton, where he had amassed double figures in the goals column for the second time. Nevertheless, Chelsea deemed him to be surplus to requirements and made his spot at Everton a permanent one. Lukaku would later go on to become one of the world's best centre-forwards, culminating in a victorious Serie A campaign with Inter Milan in 2020-21. Ironically, Lukaku has since returned to the London club, only to enter the worst slump of his career to date.

To be fair to Chelsea, they are run much better today than they were three or four years ago. It is much less likely that the Chelsea of today would have failed to see De Bruyne's potential the way that the Chelsea of back then did. However, every new page that De Bruyne continues to add to his story only serves to rub it in even more - the only two words that come to mind are "what if".

There are some mistakes that never truly leave a club because of how utterly monumental in scope they are. Despite what Chelsea have already accomplished in the years since De Bruyne's departure, no one can dispute that every time he comes back to haunt them, it was entirely of their own doing.

The Weekly Take, Issue 59: What Did It Cost City? Maybe Everything

This season’s Premier League title race will likely come down to the wire.

During the most recent matchday, Manchester City took a significant step forward in the chase for the title. The Citizens beat Tottenham 1-0, with Phil Foden scoring City’s winning goal. It was also City’s second victory over Spurs in less than a week. City beat Spurs 4-3 in the second leg of a Champions League quarterfinal thriller, though that victory was in vain as City were knocked out on away goals.

This latest victory put City just two points behind league leaders Liverpool; however, in City’s favour is the fact that they have four matches remaining while Liverpool have three.

However, City’s victory might have come at a tremendous cost; it could even potentially end up ruining their league title bid.

In the 38th minute, City’s star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was forced off due to a hamstring injury. He was replaced by Fernandinho.

While it is never a good time for a team to lose their best player through injury, this could not have come at a worse time for City.

City’s next Premier League match will be a derby against bitter rivals Manchester United. What makes this particular Manchester derby even more dangerous for City is the fact that United are coming off a crushing 4-0 loss to Everton. Thus, the Red Devils will be desperate for redemption and especially eager to prove themselves in what is already one of world football’s fiercest rivalry matches.

With City set to be short of their Belgian ace, this derby represents an excellent opportunity for United to boost their bid for a spot in next season’s Champions League. However, the match will have even greater significance than that alone.

Adding to the intrigue surrounding the upcoming derby is the fact that it could decide who wins the Premier League this season.

Liverpool’s final three league matches will be against Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Meanwhile, after the Manchester derby, City will close out their league campaign against Burnley, Leicester City, and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Both the Reds and Citizens will be expected to finish their respective league seasons with three wins. Thus, should everything else go as expected and neither side choke during the final stretch of matches, the Manchester derby will end up becoming the title decider. A United win or a draw will see Liverpool win the league; for City, only a victory for them will suffice.

The importance of De Bruyne to this City team cannot be overstated.

De Bruyne is arguably the best passer in world football today. Prior to this season, De Bruyne had recorded 64 assists in 133 league matches over the preceding four seasons. In doing so, he led his league in assists three times: once in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg in 2015 and twice in the Premier League with City in 2017 and 2018.

His passing genius formed the foundation for City’s formidable offense as they won last season’s Premier League title by a massive 19-point margin. One could also easily argue that De Bruyne was robbed of Premier League Player of the Season title; it was Liverpool striker Mo Salah who claimed that accolade.

But it’s not just about the passing when it comes to De Bruyne’s overall game.

Very few players today are able to survey the match situation, then make the correct play as consistently as De Bruyne does. His play might not be as flashy as that of the likes of Luka Modrić, Ángel Di María, or his compatriot Eden Hazard, but it is no less effective.

De Bruyne’s current season has been ravaged by injury. He has played in just 14 of City’s 34 league matches thus far this season. Given De Bruyne’s track record regarding injuries, this is an unpleasant surprise; this figure represents the most matches he has ever missed in a season by a long way. It also looks as though this latest injury could be the most critical of all.

Although Manchester City’s win over Tottenham meant that they maintained control of the league title race, the injury sustained by Kevin De Bruyne in that victory might have caused City to lose the war despite winning the battle.