When any conversation takes place, whether it is now or in the future, about the greatest players to grace the Premier League, Kevin de Bruyne will justifiably be part of it.
The heartbeat of one of the finest teams in the history of British football, De Bruyne was a creator supreme, a scorer of goals, a controller and dictator of games at the very highest level.
The Premier League has been fortunate to have him and we have been fortunate to watch him.
The word "great" is bandied around too easily - but it fits De Bruyne perfectly.
One stand-out personal memory was De Bruyne's performance when Manchester City beat Real Madrid 4-0 in the Champions League semi-final second leg at Etihad Stadium in May 2023.
City's first 45 minutes, in which they established a 2-0 lead, remains one of the finest halves of football I have ever witnessed - they delivered quality of the highest level, executed at a searing pace that bewildered Real Madrid.
At the heart of it all was De Bruyne, the great orchestrator of a magnificent team display.
If there is a sadness about De Bruyne's City career, it is that he was injured during both of their Champions League final appearances, suffering a serious facial injury following a collision with Antonio Rudiger in the 1-0 loss to Chelsea in 2021, then sustaining a hamstring injury in the victory against Inter Milan two years later.
