Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has claimed that he prefers Liverpool’s stadium over Manchester United’s.
During a quickfire Q&A for ESPN on Instagram, De Bruyne was asked whether he preferred Anfield or Old Trafford.
The Belgian gave a rueful smile as he contemplated the difficult question. But after a moments thought, he opted for the Liverpool ground.
As a boyhood Liverpool fan, that should have been an easy choice, Kevin!
Mutual respect and a mutual enemy
There wasn’t really an easy way out for De Bruyne here. Although given the ferocity of their rivalry with their city rivals, surely Anfield is the safer choice.
Of course City and Liverpool are currently big rivals domestically and in Europe. They fight tooth and nail for every trophy and are clear as the two best sides in the country right now.
But aside from the head-to-head battles they have, there isn’t all that much of a rivalry to speak of. In fact, relations between the clubs are unusually cordial.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have an incredible amount of respect for each other. The two managers are quite probably the best in their field at the moment and they treat each other as such.
The players too are very friendly with each other. De Bruyne himself has gone on record with his admiration for The Reds. He and Virgil Van Dijk were actually recently seen enjoying a concert in Ibiza together, and the City man has previously talked of how their kids are at school together.
Without any historic rivalry as such, the fans of both sides don’t have any long-standing issues with each other.
By contrast, both can unite in their hatred of common enemy United. The Old Trafford club’s feud with their neighbours is probably second to their dislike of Liverpool, but it’s still pretty fierce.
You’re welcome at Anfield wearing Liverpool red any time, Kev, remember that!
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