Bruno Fernandes vs Kevin De Bruyne – who’s better?

You know what they say… comparison is the thief of joy.

But Bruno Fernandes’ recent form – he’s recently notched his 16th (and record-breaking) assist of the season – has got many fans chatting about his status in the Premier League.

Is he better than former Arsenal magician Mesut Ozil? How does he compare to say, Kevin De Bruyne, for example?

It’s all subjective, of course, and one fan’s opinion is likely to differ from another’s. Especially those spread across Manchester’s football divide.

Fernandes’ silverware (or evident lack thereof) since joining from Sporting CP in 2020 is an obvious downfall when comparing the two midfield maestros.

De Bruyne won a total of six Premier League titles in his stay at the Etihad Stadium, while the Belgian also picked up a Champions League title before leaving in summer 2025.

The 34-year-old lasted a decade as the spearhead behind City’s success in England’s top flight and plundered 285 goal contributions in 422 outings.

Comparatively – and at the time of writing – Fernandes has 208 (105 goals and 103 assists) in 319 outings for United.

Both potent in the final third, Fernandes has 193 career goals and 171 assists to boot and De Bruyne matches his assist record (263) but falls short in the goals department, having scored 34 fewer goals throughout his senior career.

United’s trusty creator has largely taken the club’s penalties since arriving six years ago but that wasn’t always the case for his counterpart across the city.

Despite being three years older, De Bruyne (664) has not made too many more appearances than Fernandes (620) but that’s a testament to the United man’s incredible availability record.

Rarely injured, he’s missed just six United games (per Transfermarkt) since his 2020 arrival – which is a terrific feat.

In comparison, De Bruyne has not always been readily available for his teams and that’s evidenced by the fact he missed a large part of the 2025/26 season through injury.

That was also the case towards the latter end of his career in the Premier as, in 2023/24, he missed 30 matches for City and Belgium.

When you’re talking about pure aesthetics, the City legend was a brilliant ball-carrier and would skip past the opposition as if it was going out of fashion.

Fernandes is a different type of No.10; he likes to dictate the play, run himself into the ground for the badge and create a number of chances.

Whether there is someone on the end to convert said chances is another conversation but he’s certainly a creation monster.

De Bruyne was also more economical with the ball at his feet in his pomp.

Much of the Belgian’s best work was structure around his creation rather than his numbers, whereas Fernandes is always willing to take a subtle risk.

Fundamentally, he’s become the heartbeat United have concerningly become too dependent on as, when he’s not at the races, it’s evident.

In terms of their respective importance to United and City, the former would’ve been lost without Fernandes.

The same, perhaps, cannot be said about the latter and De Bruyne.

For a member of the Old Trafford faithful, he’s far and away as the best signing on the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.

For years, the club lacked a player able to orchestrate a team as well as the 31-year-old has.

Who you pick as the better player may come down to club bias but both players should be given their flowers as they are two of the greatest attacking midfielders the Premier League has even seen.

In truth, though, it’s difficult to look past De Bruyne’s trophy cabinet.

Another thing to consider is the fact that he was named Premier League Player of the Year on two occasions – in 2019/20 and 2021/22.

You could argue (and be right about) the fact that he rubbed shoulders with superior teammates but the now-Napoli was utterly freakish throughout his time in England.

As is Fernandes and that forms a pivotal part of any compelling case that he’s the better player – but, for most, the former City midfielder was a cut above the rest and rightfully remembered as one of the best.

The current Fernandes is superior, sure, but there was a time when De Bruyne was considered one of the best in world football. That’s how good he was.