Known as one of the greatest Belgian soccer players ever, Kevin de Bruyne still has time to add to his legacy. Since 2015, he’s been a mainstay at Manchester City, helping them be one of the most consistent teams in the Premier League.
His success on the pitch at the club and international level only has people more interested in the personal side of things. This is a closer look at his family, as well as some of the major milestones of his career to this point.
The playing story isn’t complete for De Bruyne just yet, but he’s been a pro for 14 years and is currently one of the most recognizable faces in the game worldwide.
| Kevin De Bruyne’s Family | Name |
|---|---|
| Parents | Herwig De Bruyne, Anna De Bruyne |
| Siblings | Stephanie de Bruyne |
| Girlfriend | Michele Lacroix |
| Kids | Mason, Rome, and Suri |
Parents
- Father: Herwig De Bruyne
- Mother: Anna De Bruyne
Kevin de Bruyne is the son of Herwig and Anna de Bruyne. He was born on June 28, 1991. Although he is Belgian-born, he spent the early part of his childhood in England and the Ivory Coast due to his mom‘s side of the family.
De Brunye’s grandfather operated as an oil investor in Africa in the 1990s. That’s why the family would consistently go back to see others throughout Europe and Africa.
Currently, Herwig serves as the manager of his son’s career. He takes care of many of his sponsorships, appearances, and more.
They have a healthy relationship, and his previous career as a businessman and negotiator allowed him to easily make the transition.
His mother gave birth to Kevin at 18. She’s worked in oil-related fields her entire professional career just like the rest of her family. Working a lot in Africa, she met Kevin‘s father when traveling to Belgium.
The international lifestyle de Bruyne has lived since an early age has paid off from a language perspective. de Bruyne is a fluent speaker of French, English, German, and Dutch. During interviews, he will seamlessly switch between languages if necessary.
It’s helped him land sponsorship deals and become a spokesman for certain companies because of his versatility.
Siblings
- Sister: Stephanie de Bruyne
There’s just one other child in the family, as Stephanie de Bruyne is constantly seen at matches to support Kevin.
She’s started a young family of her own, but still finds time to make it to matches and be there with the family at the club and international levels.
Wife and Kids
- Wife: Michele Lacroix
- Kids: Mason, Rome, and Suri
Michele Lacroix and Kevin de Bruyne have been in a relationship since 2014. They officially married in 2017, and they have a total of three children together.
Like a lot of professional soccer players, de Bruyne attempts to keep his children out of the limelight as much as possible. As they are young and growing, getting a chance to do so without constant scrutiny can help keep them relatively normal.
Aside from occasional Instagram updates online, he rarely talks about Mason, Rome, and Suri to keep cameras away.
De Bruyne’s Evolution As One of the Greats
De Bruyne was born in Dragan, Belgium, and he began playing for the local team early on in his career. He spent two years with KVV Drongen before moving to Gent for six years. After that, he spent his final youth years with Genk.
When Genk signed him, they had every intention of bringing him up to the first team as quickly as possible. They opted to promote him in 2008, but he didn’t make his debut until May 2009.
Just shy of his 18th birthday, he would play sparingly the first year before getting a true opportunity to make an impact in 2010. Each year following that, he became more and more of a focal point for Genk.
Steady play with the club drew the attention of some of the big names in soccer. Most notably, Chelsea showed considerable interest and fought hard to land a deal for him. They paid around 7,000,000 pounds to bring him on, although he would end up playing just three matches for the senior team.
For most of his time, he was on loan to Werner Bremen. Chelsea continued to say that he was part of their plans, but he never found any type of consistent play there.
The next stop for De Bruyne was in Wolfsburg, as they paid 18,000,000 pounds to sign him to a deal. Although he would just be with them for two years and make 52 appearances with them overall, he scored 13 goals and became a very solid contributor to the club.
Transfer speculation started to heat up at the beginning of the 2015 season. Wolfsburg knew that they could sell him for a considerable amount, but they had no idea that he would get a six-year contract for a club-record fee of 55,000,000 pounds.
He became the second most expensive transfer at the time, and Manchester City felt like he was worth every penny. In many ways, he’s done exactly what they asked him to, as he is still with the club with 211 appearances and counting.
They’ve achieved team success during his tenure, and he’s been arguably one of the most consistent players in the EPL since his arrival.
On the international side of things, De Bruyne has made 91 appearances for the senior club. He scored 24 goals, with his most memorable moment coming at the 2018 FIFA World Cup when they finished in third place.
Kevin de Bruyne‘s Future
Now in his early 30s and with a wife and three kids, Kevin de Bruyne is in the latter stages of his professional career.
Although he still plays at a very high level, it can be assumed that he’ll eventually step away from the game or move to a lower-level club team in the next few years.
De Bruyne has always lacked some of the flash and the headlines of other star players of his generation, but the statistics show that he’s one of the very best in the game.
Fans will remember him for his exploits on the pitch, but it’s also great to see him live such a normal life off of it. Not many soccer players have a chance to do that in their life.