De Bruyne not feeling extra pressure after Napoli hand him Maradona’s No. 10 jersey
Kevin De Bruyne expressed his pride at Napoli giving him Diego Maradona's famous number 10 jersey.
Kevin De Bruyne does not feel any extra pressure after effectively confirming he has been given Diego Maradona’s No. 1o shirt by Napoli.
Maradona’s jersey number had been retired by Napoli, who renamed their stadium after the Argentina legend following his death in 2020.
But pictures circulated this week of De Bruyne wearing the number 10 on his training kit as he gears up for his first season with the Serie A champions after his move from Manchester City.
He was asked about those photos in a press conference, and in answering he essentially revealed the club had elected to give him Maradona’s number.
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“I would say I was a bit surprised in the beginning, because I knew that the number was retired, but in another way it’s an honour,” De Bruyne said.
“It’s an honour from the team and from the club to give me this responsibility.
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“I don’t think it adds any more pressure. I think the pressure comes from itself. If you play for big teams like Napoli, the pressure will be there.
“There’s a team that wants to win, you know what you have to do as a player and a squad, but I don’t believe that a number or anything else will add to the pressure.
“Maradona is Maradona, he’s one of the legends of the game and he’s synonymous with Napoli anyway. I’m grateful, I’m proud, but I’m my own player.
“I’m going to try and do the job the best I can do and hopefully I can bring pleasure to the team, to the city and to the fans and get some good performances in there.”