De Bruyne made Ronaldo shirt request after the Manchester derby

The Belgium international got a memento to cherish after the weekend’s Manchester derby.

Kevin De Bruyne was reportedly seen holding Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United shirt after Sunday’s derby.

That’s according to MEN. The Manchester-based outlet claims De Bruyne walked into the mixed zone with Ronaldo’s jersey, having asked the forward for it at the end of the match.

It capped off an afternoon the 31-year-old won’t forget in a hurry. He assisted two of Erling Haaland’s three goals to help Manchester City beat United in a 6-3 derby thriller. Teammate Phil Foden also bagged a hat-trick in the game.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, was an unused substitute. United manager Erik ten Hag claimed he didn’t bring the 37-year-old striker onto the pitch out of respect for his career.

Nonetheless, De Bruyne remains an avid admirer of Ronaldo. He has expressed a desire to play alongside the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in the past, and it appears that wish remains strong to this day.

“Maybe somebody like Thierry Henry, or even somebody like Cristiano,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports of a striker he would love to play with during an interview in 2020.

“For me, a creative player, he’s going to be there. I’m somebody who’s quick, who can go deep. That helps me a lot. You can play with magnificent midfielders, but strikers, for what I do, are probably the main importance.

“So I would say maybe Cristiano or Thierry Henry.”

On Ronaldo, he added: “I could probably put it [a cross] about three meters high and he’s still going to get it, anyway! So that’s going to make my assists go up!”