Isak 50-up & as important as it gets

Kevin De Bruyne is on the Man City bench again today, which is a chance to look back on this.

De Bruyne used a deep dive into his own data to highlight his worth to City during talks over a new deal in 2021, the contract renewal process in football changed forever.

In some ways, it sparked a new trend of player power — certainly at elite level — as it showed how the finer details around performance could be used persuasively to help lock in greater security and remuneration for those at the top of their game.

De Bruyne’s case was unique because he also negotiated without a recognised football agent, and instead used two respected lawyers while calling on several leading football analytics service providers to provide context around his numbers.

One of the companies retained was Analytics FC, who provided De Bruyne with their ‘signature service’, which applied ground-breaking data analysis to solidify his value to the club he has helped make the current Premier League, European and world champions.