Fernandes Vs De Bruyne

Deery

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Kevin DeBruyne although I think his star is fading a bit and Bruno has shortened the distance between them. I remember DeBruyne playing ridiculous through balls and smashing them in from distance on pretty much a weekly basis but that’s dried up a little. Bruno on the other hand is still in his peak and can get better but I don’t think he will be as good as peak DeBtuyne.
 

ash_86

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Not disagreeing KDB is more complete player, but We'd not be anywhere close to where we are now with KDB playing for us. But i do see Bruno having insane numbers at city too.
 

Pickle85

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KdB, fairly comfortably, but at this point in their respective careers I wouldn't swap.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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De Bruyne is the better player, but Bruno has been better than him since he's been in the Prem IMO.
 

dal

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They are both brilliant, I just feel Bruno is more decisive and a slightly better leader, I wouldn’t swap Bruno for anyone in the world in his position.
 

Alan Partridge

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KDB certainly the more technically perfect player but there is just no substitute for Bruno’s hustle.
 

E-mal

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For ManUnited, Bruno all day long. He's just much more of a United player than KdB. His mentality, his swagger if you like and he's also a big risk taker. Can also win game by his goals. Since I support United and dont care about NT/other clubs, Bruno wins it for me.
Manutd mentality is winning trophies and Debruyne is a winner, so this point does not stand.
For the football purist and hipsters, Debruyne will be the choice but Bruno also has some good skills and seem a great player.
If I have to choose, I'd rather go with Debruyne to give us more control. He is also more versatile.
 

cyberman

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Bruno. If he scores and creates more than KDB then it has to be him. Its not as if KDB drops deep dictating the tempo.
 

E-mal

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The Tottenham guy makes a poor argurement, Kane has been the best striker in Epl but won nothing, would you take Arguero over him?
The Newcastle fellow knows his football and have respect for him. The biggest criticism U have of Bruno is that he can be erratic and sometimes his bad games can be very very bad.
In addition, they are more like different players, Bruno is more like a second striker while Debruyne is a proper midfielder.
 

The Hilton

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KDB could never have galvanised us the way Bruno did, people are underestimating the traits that Bruno has over KDB in spades - inspirational leadership and infectious enthusiasm.

KDB is the silkier playe, just about, but Bruno makes the entire team raise their game.
 

roonster09

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The Tottenham guy makes a poor argurement, Kane has been the best striker in Epl but won nothing, would you take Arguero over him?
The Newcastle fellow knows his football and have respect for him. The biggest criticism U have of Bruno is that he can be erratic and sometimes his bad games can be very very bad.
In addition, they are more like different players, Bruno is more like a second striker while Debruyne is a proper midfielder.
Bruno and KdB plays in same position, if Bruno is second striker then so is KdB. Only difference between them is Bruno makes lot of attacking runs and his off the ball runs are very good. KdB drifts wide and doesn't make many attacking runs.
 

E-mal

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Bruno and KdB plays in same position, if Bruno is second striker then so is KdB. Only difference between them is Bruno makes lot of attacking runs and his off the ball runs are very good. KdB drifts wide and doesn't make many attacking runs.
I just feel that Bruno is more advanced than Debruyne. Debruyne could play with Silva in a 3 man midfield and not be lightweight but I really doubt Bruno can. He is not very meticulous with his possession.
I will guess that Bruno's ball turnovers are much higher than Debruyne's. So one is more trusted in possession than the other.
 

Andersons Dietician

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I think this would come down to what you need in your team. KDB probably a far better technician but Bruno is just different. I would probably go KDB purely off of personal preference where I’d rather my team was better in possesion.
 

cyberman

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I think this would come down to what you need in your team. KDB probably a far better technician but Bruno is just different. I would probably go KDB purely off of personal preference where I’d rather my team was better in possesion.
Is KDB that good in possession? It seems he’s the outlier in that side, he’s the risk taker that opens up the opposition with direct balls.
 

Pep's Suit

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I think Fernandes is the more decisive player and has been for months now while KDB struggled a bit for some time but also it's about trophies whether some people like it or not. You can't be the best without winning them.
 

Hughes35

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in a one off game / when they are fit, I'd take KDB quite easily..... Bruno plays more games though so over a season I'd probably take him.
 

ivaldo

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If you asked this a year or so ago then the answer undoubtedly would've been De Bruyne. But if we look at it since then Bruno has been the better player. To get 48 goals and assists in that time is astonishing. Conversely, De Bruyne doesn't even make the top 5. Bruno has been playing with inferior players but has lead by example, pulling this team from the quagmire and transforming us into a side that is feared again. His impact on this time is akin to Cantona's all those years ago. If I had the opportunity to swap Bruno for De Bruyne then I'd turn it down in a heartbeat.
 

roonster09

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I just feel that Bruno is more advanced than Debruyne. Debruyne could play with Silva in a 3 man midfield and not be lightweight but I really doubt Bruno can. He is not very meticulous with his possession.
I will guess that Bruno's ball turnovers are much higher than Debruyne's. So one is more trusted in possession than the other.
Bruno has already played as a CM and he would have been a midfielder like KdB, Silva under Pep. They are not exactly CMs, they are attacking mids with a proper DM.

KdB topped possession lost stats in the seasons he wasn't injured. He isn't meticulous with his possession. He is a risk taker but under Pep they play lot of short passes in the build up which boosts his pass percentage. Check his pass completion percentage, you will see a good number of increase once Pep took over.

Just check his pass completion before and after Pep, you can see clear improvement in pass completion %, which is also related to playing more short passes compared to Long passes that KdB used to attempt under other managers compared to Pep.

Under different managerPass competionAccurate Short passes/90Inaccurate short passes/90Accurate Long pass/90Inaccurate long pass/90Total passes/90Short passes attempted %Long passes Attempted %
2012-13
76.5​
30​
8.7​
5.4​
2.2​
46.3​
83.59%​
16.41%​
2013-14
74.2​
28​
9.8​
3.9​
1.3​
43​
87.91%​
12.09%​
2014-15
74.5​
28.9​
9.3​
4.5​
2.2​
44.9​
85.08%​
14.92%​
2015-16
78.3​
37.5​
10​
2.2​
1​
50.7​
93.69%​
6.31%​
UnderPep
2016-17
82​
43.5​
8.3​
2.6​
1.8​
56.2​
92.17%​
7.83%​
2017-18
83.4​
61.6​
11​
3.8​
2​
78.6​
92.37%​
7.38%​
2018-19
83.7​
51.7​
8.9​
4.1​
1.9​
66.7​
90.85%​
9.00%​
2019-20
81.5​
46.1​
9.8​
3.9​
1.5​
61.3​
91.19%​
8.81%​
2020-21
81.7​
43.6​
9.4​
2.9​
1.1​
56.9​
93.15%​
7.03%​

Under more direct manager like Ole, KdB would be losing possession as much as he is a direct player like Bruno is.
 

yipthatman

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This is a bit like a Messi vs Ronaldo debate but not on the same level. Everyone has an opinion and mine is Bruno all day long. I think he is far more exciting, entertaining and more talismanic. A lot of people say KDB is better technically but I just don't see it. I must be wrong though because everyone seems to say it. I think Bruno is amazing and just what we need. I think you could remove KDB from the City squad and it would be nowhere near as bad as removing Bruno from our squad.
 

SuperiorXI

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Really hard one, Bruno edges it but I feel if I were a neutral it'd be closer, red tinted glasses means I naturally favour the United player and De Bruyne suffers penalty points for playing for that disgrace of a "club".
 

Amarsdd

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Reminds me of the Song of Ice and Fire.

The fire wins at the end so its clear that Bruno is better :devil:
Are you George R. R. Martin?
 

Polar

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My heart says Bruno but my brain says KDB.
Agree..

We need a player like Bruno and I don't think KDB would’ve made more difference. If had to choose between them, I would say Bruno if I represented United and likely KDB if I represented another relevant club.

I think KDB is a better player in total compared with Bruno, but KDB isn’t necessary the answer in all cases.
 

laughtersassassin

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KDB is technically better but if we swap out Bruno for KDB I think we would be worse off.

Bruno forces change and wins etc.

Similarly I think City would be worse with Bruno than KDB.

It's all about the style you play.

That said Bruno has been unequivocally the better the better player for the last 18 months.

KDB had a average season last year by his standards.
 

ShinjiNinja26

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Both great players but it’s Bruno for me. The guys an absolute machine, goals, assists, insane work rate and leadership rolled into one. He’s got everything you’d want in a footballer.

The question I ask myself is if you had swapped Bruno for De Bruyne when he first arrived would we have the same trajectory we currently have? Would we have finished 2nd last season? I think not and that’s the difference for me. De Bruyne’s a player you drop into an already great team and excels like the icing on the cake, where as you drop Bruno into a good but not great side and he make players around him go up another level.
 

Mr Smith

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I believe De Bruyne is the better player, but Bruno is the player we need. He embodies the club, and I wouldn't swap him for anyone.
 

harms

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They don't have similar skillsets though. If I would discount the emotional connection that I have to Bruno as a United fan, I'd take Dr Bruyne, his vision & creativeness is something else and I believe that he had been one of the best players in the world (firmly in the top-5 and arguably in top-3 with Messi and Lewandowski) for a few years now. Bruno isn't that far off but he still needs time to establish himself not only as one of the best players in the league but as a Ballon d'Or contender, which he still isn't at the moment — and Euro showed that there's still room to grow for him. Fit De Bruyne never gets dropped by Belgium — and even though dropping Bruno was probably not the best decision in hindsight, it was an understandable result of his underwhelming performances.

As numbers go, Bruno my even be more effective, at least in the league, but De Bruyne's also incredibly consistent throughout the game while Bruno still sometimes plays as a highlights player. I'm not one of those Bruno criticisers that sometimes bizarrely appear on this forum though, love him to bits & couldn't be happier with him, really.

P.S. you can argue that United needs Bruno more at this point — De Bruyne also developed as a leader lately, but Bruno is still better at it and our team is in a desperate need of leaders. Still, if we're picking a team from the scratch, United bias aside, I'd take Kevin.
 

Jeppers7

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I think Bruno is the better option for our team when he’s on form. He needs to be more consistent than he was the second half of last season though because a lot of his performances were awful...in which case I’d have to go with KDB because his bottom level is much higher.
 

SilentWitness

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Career wise KDB wins currently but since Bruno arrived in the PL he’s been better.
 

Fingeredmouse

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Surprised at the answers. KDB is easily the better player in my opinion. Seems like a bit of recency bias after the hat trick. As important as Bruno has been for us, there have been many games where his passing was erratic and he kept conceding possession much too easily, yet covered it up with an assist or a goal, oftentimes just a penalty goal. KDB is the most consistent creative player in the world bar Messi and makes a team play much better football.
I think this is the crux of it.

I would take Bruno, just as I would take Giggs over Scholes, because Bruno is always trying things. He'll give the ball away (on a bad day often) but he takes risks and makes things happen. I like those kinds of players.

That is not to say KDB doesn't have oodles of creativity but he's more controlled. That undoubtedly brings consistency but I prefer the high risk/high reward style especially in the case if Bruno where we see consistent reward.

I think they could easily play together as an aside. Now that would be something.
 

VP89

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The Tottenham guy makes a poor argurement, Kane has been the best striker in Epl but won nothing, would you take Arguero over him?
The Newcastle fellow knows his football and have respect for him. The biggest criticism U have of Bruno is that he can be erratic and sometimes his bad games can be very very bad.
In addition, they are more like different players, Bruno is more like a second striker while Debruyne is a proper midfielder.
I feel the basis of his argument, which is fair, is KDB is a better player. But there are other factors at play such as influence, suitability to the 10 and fitness.

It reminds me of a debate I had with a friend during a season where Rooney was up top and firing. I said David Villa was the best striker in the world, and he said "what do you mean, Rooney is a much better player"... And whilst I agreed I felt Villa was a better striker.

This feels similar whereby yes, KDB can be seen as a better player but I think Bruno is a better 10.
 

Adisa

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De Bruyne for me. Says ng that, he hasn't been at his best for quite a while now.
 

DWelbz19

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The whole 'Fernandes loses the ball when he's not playing well' thing is true but it's just as true for De Bruyne in his poor games. In must-win CL games, he reverts to his robot mechanical low-crossing mode which yields very little result.

Both are top tier players, but the CV doesn't lie. De Bruyne's got 3 PL titles and a bucket-full of domestic cups. Hopefully Bruno starts racking those up soon. And with De Bruyne now dwindling a little with his injuries accumulating...
 

tenpoless

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Manutd mentality is winning trophies and Debruyne is a winner, so this point does not stand.
KdB is a winner because he plays in a winner team. KdB has winning mentality because his team wins trophies. Feck me I feel like Michael Owen saying that. Now the tougher question would be: if KdB comes to United at the time when Bruno came, to the same team, under the same manager, same pressure will he lift the entire team up? will he be a season changer? or will he sulk and let the rest of the squad affects him than the other way around?

KdB is a quality player no doubt about it. But put him in the same situation as Bruno back then and I doubt he will do as good. If you put KdB in the current team then sure he will shine. But when things get tough, it's questionable because he's never had it hard at Citeh. Bruno will always try even if his team mates are shite, such trait is really hard to find in a player. He's also a leader while KdB does this
 

CloneMC16

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KDB, but I'd still take Bruno for our team. We needed a leader to pull us forward and Bruno has done that exceptionally well. I wouldn't swap him for any player in the world.