Exclusive: 'His leadership is proven' - Pep Guardiola hails Kevin de Bruyne, tips him as future manager

In an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, Pep Guardiola has hailed Kevin De Bruyne's leadership following his return to fitness, and has tipped the midfielder to follow Vincent Kompany into management ahead of Manchester City's meeting with Burnley.

De Bruyne was forced off after just 23 minutes of City's victory over Burnley on the opening day of the Premier League season, but he is very much back involved ahead of the return fixture in Manchester which is live on TNT Sports 3 and discovery+ from 19:00 UK time on Wednesday evening, having already made a strong comeback.

De Bruyne has enjoyed a glittering career at City since arriving in 2015, and since Guardiola took over a year later, the pair have enjoyed a wonderfully successful relationship with trophies galore.

It is clear that the Belgian's influence has not diminished over the years, and along with Haaland, he can help give City a huge boost over the coming months as they seek to overtake Liverpool and power back to the top of the Premier League table.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Guardiola reiterated the importance of De Bruyne to his squad - both as a hugely influential player, and as an experienced leader who has seen it all over so many successful campaigns.

"He is a really important player for us, not only in the past but in the present," Guardiola told TNT Sports about having De Bruyne back fit in his ranks.

"Of course, he was injured for a long time. I think he has come back incredibly fresh with his presence and his mind, so yeah, really pleased.

"When you are out for a long time, you have the desire to come back in your mind. That is why you are fresh and ready to come back."

On De Bruyne's leadership style, he explained: "I think his leadership is proven on the pitch, a person like this. He is so friendly, and he is not a player who will talk a lot before a game, but he proves a real leader when we play.

"We have had a lot of characters and big personalities in the team for many, many years. Kevin is a big personality, of course.

"Personality is when you are under pressure and how you compete – this is real leadership. Through example and leading by example, the other ones can follow."

Could De Bruyne follow in the footsteps of another City legend, Burnley boss Vincent Kompany, in moving smoothly and successfully into coaching and management after his playing career?

"He can do it," Guardiola said. "I think he is taking the lessons of being a manager and he can do it, of course. He has been with good managers and had experiences in European Cups, World Cups, Champions League... being demanding, you have to win, win, win. This is an incredible lesson.

"Of course, it depends on his passion and on what he wants to do. He has to try to think about his future as he is not, unfortunately for us, 20 years old anymore.

"We have known each other for many, many years. Of course, I like to talk with the players about what we have to do and what we are doing, yeah. I like it.

"When I was 25, 26, I started to think I would like to manage a team. Yeah, I started to think about it from an early age, I would say."

At this point, Guardiola knows exactly how to pace his team through the gruelling demands of a long season and across numerous competitions, so he is very clear on the approach that must be followed again in this campaign.

"What we have done in the past, we have never thought about the run-in, it is just game-by-game, game-by-game, game-by-game," he explained.

"We keep doing what we have done for all these years. We continue to try to do that. So, against Burnley, this is the most important game, try to win it, and then the next one.

"It is about not thinking about how many games you have to play. The players know that we have to win games to compete against Liverpool, Arsenal and the other teams."

He added: "December is so tough, and January as well! We were lucky to win two titles already this season and we are in the other competitions – we are there fighting for the FA Cup and the Champions League. It is nice that, after what we have done in the past, we are still here.

"In football and in dealing with people, there is not always the same pattern. The way you are playing, if players are injured or not injured… you have to continue to evolve and decide what you want to do.

"We change a little bit; we evolve, we learn. Every year, we learn. I learn about the team, about the players, the problems the opponents create for us, and whether we have to change many things.

"The principles are quite similar, but you have to change, otherwise it would be boring for years of doing the same every day. So, we have to change with different shapes and prospects and ideas, and that is good."

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