"Julian already seemed like an adult playing for us"

Manchester City face their last Premier League game of 2022 against Leeds United (21.00). Pep Guardiola will not be able to count on Julian Alvarez, who has not yet joined the squad after the World Cup in Qatar.

Kevin de Bruyne spoke on a number of topics in the build-up to the game, including Haaland and the young Argentine striker, to whom he had some nice words to say. "I'm happy for him, he's a very nice guy and very shy," said the Belgian.

"I think when he came to the club there was talk about this young talent from Argentina and at the beginning we saw that he was a very talented player. You don't know what can happen when players come from South America, but he already seemed like an adult playing for us. He can call himself a world champion, so he will feel great," he said.

De Bruyne stressed that Julian's English "is not so bad and coming from Argentina to England is a completely different world". "I think he has adapted very well and he is happy here as well. I'm happy for him," he added.