For a lot of footballers, social media is an ideal place to connect with fans, but most of the time, all they receive is abuse, leading them to hire people to manage the accounts for them.
For example, if a player doesn’t perform to fans’ expectations for one game, it’s pretty much guaranteed that his mentions on Twitter will be filled with negative messages.
He explained in an interview with Duse Magazine: “I don’t care what people say, I can read it. It makes me laugh. It doesn’t affect me personally. For me, it’s banter in one way or another. Yeah, I like to read these things.”
Another subject De Bruyne was keen to put to bed was the amount of work footballers actually put in to please the fans.
The Belgium international explained: “When you’re on the pitch, you’re working hard, you’re not thinking about anything, about how much you earn, or even what the fans think. It’s just you, your teammates, the ball, and you play. This is what I know, this is my job.
“People don’t realise the amount of work we put into it. Obviously, if you’re resting, it’s because you have to play on Saturday. It’s just part of the job. You need to go to the physio, get a massage, go in the pool, so I think our job is 24/7.”
Bought from Wolfsburg in 2015 for over £60m, the Manchester City star has had a good season under Pep Guardiola so far, scoring five goals and picking up 14 assists in 39 games in all competitions.
