Kevin De Bruyne Warns Against Comparing Enzo Fernandez as His Successor

Kevin De Bruyne has cut through the noise surrounding Enzo Fernandez’s blockbuster move to Manchester City, warning supporters not to rush into anointing the Argentine as his natural heir.

As soon as Fernandez arrived at the Etihad in a British record deal, the narrative wrote itself. Former Chelsea midfielder. World Cup winner. New No.17. Successor to a modern City great. For many fans, the baton had already been passed.

De Bruyne doesn’t see it that way.

Speaking to Nieuwsblad, the Belgian was blunt when asked about City fans branding Fernandez his replacement. “Manchester City fans calling Fernandez my successor? Honestly, I think that’s a little too much,” he said.

He didn’t dismiss the 25-year-old’s talent. Far from it. “Enzo is a good player, I’m not saying he isn’t. He has quality, he has potential and he can become a very important midfielder. But if we’re being completely honest, I don’t think he is anywhere near the level I was playing at for Manchester City.”

That is the standard Fernandez now walks into: a decade of De Bruyne at full tilt, with the No.17 shirt stitched into the club’s modern history. Goals, assists, titles. The number became shorthand for creativity and control.

Fernandez has taken that same 17, a move that only sharpened the comparisons. Yet he insists the choice is personal, not symbolic.

“It’s a number I like,” he said at his unveiling. “It embodies me. It was my first number in the national team, so I’m very happy to choose this number.”

The shirt might carry echoes of De Bruyne, but the price tag has generated just as much noise. City matched a British record fee to bring the midfielder from Chelsea, a figure that instantly drags expectation into every performance.

De Bruyne doesn’t buy the idea that a fee makes a footballer.

“Sometimes I feel people have overrated him because of the price tag and what he has achieved with Argentina,” he said. “£125m doesn’t automatically make you a world-class midfielder. He still has a lot to prove. If he wants to be my successor, he has to show it on the pitch first. Taking my No.17 shirt is one thing… replacing Kevin De Bruyne is something completely different.”

It’s a cold dose of reality from the man whose place in City folklore is already secured. The message is clear: status at this club is earned over years, not handed over with a squad number and a transfer announcement.

Fernandez, though, arrives with his own conviction and a familiar face in the dugout. Reunited with Enzo Maresca, he sees opportunity rather than burden.

“Every player wants to be part of a club like this because everyone knows how well-run City are,” he said after completing the move. “I could not be happier to be here, and I am ready for the challenge of helping City continue winning trophies. This is a club built for success.”

The stage is set: a legendary No.17 stepping back, a new No.17 stepping in, and a price tag that leaves no hiding place. Now Fernandez has to do the only thing that will quieten the comparisons — make the shirt his, on his own terms.