'Nothing prepared fans for De Bruyne goodbye' – 2025 report card

Manchester City fan's voice banner
[BBC]
Kevin de Bruyne waves to fans
[Getty Images]

Best memory and why?

In a year of two very different halves, out one very fond, emotion-filled memory stands out – the moment we had to say farewell to our greatest-ever player after victory against Bournemouth. Whether you spent the evening in tears, or reminiscing on the countless moments Kevin de Bruyne brought, it remains the key memory of the year for many.

Worst moment and why?

Only weeks later we fell to an FA Cup final defeat by Crystal Palace. Whether it was frustration at the standard of officiating, the level of performance, or key individuals failing to step up, the narrow loss felt like the ultimate culmination of a hugely disappointing season.

If I could drink a New Year’s brew with one member of our squad/management it would be…

Hugo Viana. Possibly the biggest question for our sporting director is how he managed to secure the signings of Rayan Cherki for £30.45m and Gianluigi Donnarumma for £26m – and just how surprised he was at the nature of such deals. And in a 2026 that brings some degree of uncertainty concerning Pep Guardiola, there are some obvious other questions too…

The thing that’s infuriated me in 2025 is…

The decision to allow Erling Haaland to step away from penalty-taking duties in the FA Cup final. The biggest games call for the biggest leaders and in one member of the five-man captaincy group, you would certainly expect more responsibility from the big Norwegian. Anyway, he has more than made up for that already in his City career and will continue to do so.

My gut tells me 2026 will bring…

Plenty more in the way of exciting performances, glimpses towards a future that contains a lot more silverware, perhaps some new faces and some major trophies. Most importantly, a definitive answer as to whether the future at Manchester City features Pep Guardiola… or not.

Find more from Freddie Pye at City Xtra

Recent Posts

editors picks

Top Reviews