Kevin De Bruyne Childhood Story (See how it all started)
See Kevin De Bruyne’s childhood
Kevin De Bruyne was born on June 28, 1991, to Herwig De Bruyne (Kevin’s father) and Anna De Bruyne (Kevin’s mother).
He was born white, Caucasian, which constitutes a minority of the white ethnic group in Belgium. From the beginning, everyone saw De Bruyne as a talented and special child, destined to be great in life.
Kevin De Bruyne with his parents |
Few football fans know that Kevin spent the early part of his childhood visiting Ealing, England, where his mother’s family resided. Kevin De Bruyn’s family also often visited Africa, where his mother (Anna De Bruyne) spent her early years.
Most of the holidays were spent in Burundi and Ivory Coast, where the branches of his family’s oil company were located. De Bruyne’s grandfather (on his mother’s side) is a major oil investor in Africa.
Kevin De Bruyne ‘s first contact with football
Kevin De Bruyne Childhood |
Kevin started playing football in Drongen, Belgium, at the age of 4, in his hometown of Gent, where he lived with his parents. He had a good start to the game.
The Belgian international’s rise has been meteoric since his early start. It came from two main attributes: the first is hard work and the second is determination.
Kevin De Bruyne’s first taste of stardom came from his exemplary dedication to reaching great heights.
His hard work at the youth club brought him a lot of success, which in turn attracted media attention. He was seen as the future of Belgian football.
During this period, Belgium were tired of their old stock of players due to their increasing unpopularity. They never did well in football.
The country needed a football revolution from the ground up. Kevin was touted as a kid who could lead this.
Wonderboy Kevin found himself facing the media all the time. He would face multiple interview sessions before and after his matches.
Kevin De Bruyne ‘s first contact with football |
His meteoric rise was also followed by interest from scouts within the Belgian youth football system.
All the youth clubs wanted him. Kevin progressed quickly and became one of the country’s favorite youth football players.
Genk
Kevin De Bruyne Genk |
De Bruyne began his career with local club KVV Drongen in 1997. Two years later he joined Gent and moved to Genk in 2005. De Bruyne continued his development at youth level and was rewarded for his progress by being promoted to the team’s first roster in 2008
De Bruyne made his first team debut for Genk in a 3–0 defeat to Charleroi on 9 May 2009. On 7 February 2010, De Bruyne scored his first goal for the club, which secured the three points for the club. Genk in a 1–0 victory over Standard Liège . He scored five goals and made 16 assists in 32 league matches during the 2010–11 season, as Genk were crowned Belgian champions for the third time. On 29 October 2011, De Bruyne scored his first hat-trick for Genk against Club Brugge , which ended in a 5–4 victory for Genk. On 18 February 2012, De Bruyne scored his first Genk goal following his agreed transfer to Chelsea and also assisted the other goal in the 1–2 away win against Mons . He finished the league campaign with eight goals in 28 appearances.
Chelsea
Kevin De Bruyne Chelsea |
On 31 January 2012, at the winter transfer deadline, Premier League clubs Chelsea and Genk announced the permanent signing of De Bruyne, with the fee rumored to be in the region of £7 million. De Bruyne told the club’s website: “Coming to a team like Chelsea is a dream, but now I have to work hard to reach the necessary level.” On 18 July 2012, De Bruyne made his debut for Chelsea in a friendly against Major League Soccer (MLS) side Seattle Sounders FC in a 4–2 victory.
Werder Bremen (loan)
Kevin De Bruyne Werder Bremen |
On 31 July 2012, Chelsea announced that De Bruyne would join Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on a season-long loan. He scored his first goal for Bremen in a 3–2 defeat to Hannover 96 on 15 September. De Bruyne returned to the scoresheet on 18 November, scoring the winning goal – despite his team being reduced to 10 men – as Bremen came from a goal down to defeat Fortuna Düsseldorf 2–1.
De Bruyne scored his first goal in over two months on 4 May 2013, since scoring a consolation goal in Bayern Munich ‘s 6-1 thrashing of Bremen to put his team 2-0 up at home to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim before two late goals from Sven Schipplock meant the game ended 2–2. He scored a goal in Bremen’s next match, securing a place in the Bundesliga for the next season with a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on 11 May.
Return to Chelsea
After a successful loan spell in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, De Bruyne was linked with a move to remain in Germany at either Borussia Dortmund or Bayer Leverkusen . New manager José Mourinho , however, assured De Bruyne that he was part of Chelsea’s plan for the future, and the player officially returned to Chelsea on 1 July 2013.
De Bruyne injured his knee when scoring his first goal for Chelsea, in a pre-season friendly against Malaysia XI, but was fit to make his competitive debut on the opening day of the 2013–14 Premier League season against Hull City
Wolfsburg
Kevin De Bruyne Wolfsburg |
On 18 January 2014, Wolfsburg signed De Bruyne for £18 million (€22 million). On 25 January 2014, he made his debut for Wolfsburg in a 3–1 home defeat against Hannover 96 . On 12 April 2014, De Bruyne scored 2 goals in a 4–1 home win against 1. FC Nürnberg . After a week, he scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in a 3-1 away win against Hamburger SV . He also scored in the last two Bundesliga matches helping his team beat VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Mönchengladbach .
On 10 August 2016, it was reported that Manchester City had made a bid for De Bruyne worth £47 million. Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs said the club would fight to keep him, saying: “I think some other clubs have definitely turned Kevin’s head… Some big figures are going around and I can understand why Kevin is leaving everything opened.” On 27 August, it was reported that City had made a new bid for De Bruyne worth £58 million. Klaus Allofs says City made a “surprising” salary offer to De Bruyne.
Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City |
On 30 August 2015, Manchester City announced the arrival of De Bruyne on a six-year contract, for a club record fee of £55 million (€75 million), making it the second most expensive transfer in the club’s history. British football, after Ángel Di María ‘s transfer to Manchester United in 2014. He made his debut for the team in the Premier League on 12 September against Crystal Palace . On 19 September, he scored his first goal for the club against West Ham United in first-half stoppage time in an eventual 2–1 defeat.
Kevin De Bruyne Family
Kevin De Bruyne Family |
Kevin De Bruyne Father
Kevin De Bruyne Father |
Herwig De Bruyne Snr is an intensive businessman and negotiator who successfully crafted the master plan for his son’s career.
This had a ripple effect on his son, making him earn higher salaries and also resulted in an increase in endorsement deals.
Kevin De Bruyne’s mother
Kevin De Bruyne’s mother |
His mother is originally from the United Kingdom, but was born in Burundi in East Africa, where one of her family’s oil companies is located. Anna De Bruyne is a professional in Petroleum Engineering.
She followed her father and maintained his companies in Burundi (East Africa) and Ivory Coast (West Africa).
Anna De Bruyne spent most of her childhood in the landlocked East African country before traveling to Belgium, where she met and fell in love with Kevin’s father, Herwig De Bruyne Snr.
Kevin De Bruyne’s sister
Kevin De Bruyne’s sister |
Kevin De Bruyne has a sister whose name is Stefanie De Bruyne.
Kevin De Bruyne’s wife
Kevin De Bruyne’s wife |
Kevin De Bruyne is currently married to Michele Lacroix. They announced their engagement in 2016 via an Instagram post, but only got married in 2017. Their friendship was one of the reasons Kevin started a marriage plan with Michelle. Kevin always wanted a wife who was close to his mother.
Kevin De Bruyne’s children
Kevin De Bruyne’s children |
The couple has three children together. They discovered Michèle was pregnant with their first child during the 2015 transfer window, and Kevin later described it as an “ extremely stressful time ” for the family.
Their oldest son, Mason Milian , was born in March 2016, and their second son, Rome , was born in October 2018. Then, in September 2020, Michèle and Kevin welcomed their third son and first daughter, Suri .
On her 29th birthday, Kevin called Michèle the “best mommy” in an Instagram post .
Kevin De Bruyne Salary and Contract
Kevin De Bruyne earns £340,000 a week, £17,680,000 a year playing for Manchester City as AM RLC . Kevin De Bruyne ‘s net worth is $70 million . His current contract expires on June 30, 2025 .