De Bruyne's long goodbye begins with low-key Old Trafford farewell 

The Belgian announced he will be departing the Etihad this summer.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne gets past Manchester United's Harry Maguire. Pic: Martin Rickett/PA Wire

Roll up, roll up for the Kevin De Bruyne farewell tour – but make sure you come for the emotion, not the football.

Seven more Premier League dates are in the diary with tickets like gold dust, plus an FA Cup semi-final trip to Wembley already sold out.

Promoters say they could also add a second Wembley date in future, plus an international tour in America. So, watch this space.

It all sounds so exciting, doesn’t it?

The only problem at Old Trafford was that, as hard as De Bruyne tried, he couldn’t inspire his City teammates to deliver the kind of performance he deserved in his last ever Manchester derby.

This game was billed as the first stop on a grand goodbye for the 33-year-old Belgian after he announced he will be departing the Etihad this summer, ending almost a decade in Manchester in which he has helped the club win trophy after trophy.

Whether his grand finale comes in the last game of the Premier League season at Craven Cottage against Fulham on 25 May, or in the Club World Cup this summer, we don’t yet know. But what everyone understands is that every appearance until then will feel like a tearful farewell to many of those in attendance.

So, even a turgid 0-0 draw like this shouldn’t detract from the man in the middle who will go down as one of the greatest midfielders in Premier League history. Perhaps even the very best, certainly in terms of assists and creativity.

The fact that club and player agreed an early statement to announce his departure not only gives fans a chance to enjoy every last minute of the Belgian’s career in a City shirt but also added grist to the mill of critics who suggest City will finish the season strongly.

That would mean qualification for the Champions League and, perhaps, lifting the Club World Cup on de Bruyne’s last ever appearance.

The only problem is that City didn’t look in the mood to put on a show at Old Trafford and United aren’t good enough to be a headline act on their own.

The home side were marginally the better side in the opening 45 minutes but, as so often this season, lacked the cutting edge to finish the chances they created. Just as Chelsea struggled to a goalless draw at Brentford earlier in the day, despite spending well over a billion Euros on signings without buying a striker, United were left frustrated at their own lack of punch up front.

As for City, they dominated possession just like the good old days – but at half the pace we are used to and with little or no end product, despite De Bruyne’s efforts.

He looked motivated and determined following his emotional farewell message in midweek, superbly beating Manuel Ugarte early on with a heyday spin, but his drilled shot was too weak - and easily gathered by Andre Onana.

He started the second half with a smart cross that just evaded Omar Marmoush and then sent a free-kick over for Nico O’Reilly, but the ball didn’t quite fall City’s way and, in truth, De Bruyne was struggling to dominate in the way we used to take for granted.

That, sadly, is what comes with age – but perhaps we were expecting too much, anyway. After all, City are so far below the standards set over recent seasons – and that isn’t de Bruyne’s fault, there’s a lot more to it than that.

So, don’t rule him out for the remaining legs of that farewell tour. After all, he’s used to be under-rated.

His arrival at the Etihad was famously hailed as €63m spent on a Premier League flop – a reference to his unsuccessful spell at Chelsea earlier in his career.

But nobody has used the word ‘flop’ anywhere near him since, not while he piled up six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and, of course, a Champions league in 2023.

This was his 22nd and final Manchester derby and United will be happy to see him go, having watched him assist six times, score three in the fixture, even if it didn’t quite work out this time.

He was, of course, named captain at Old Trafford and chosen to play behind Phil Foden and Marmoush, with Erling Haaland injured.

Marmoush looked the most likely to give his teammate a winning Old Trafford farewell, especially with a second-half piledriver that Onana did well to keep out, but it could also have gone United’s way if not for Ederson’s fine save from Joshua Zirkzee.

You can only hope and pray (unless you are a United fan, of course) that City will give their star man a better send off in the fixtures ahead.

Next up for de Bruyne is a trip to Goodison Park on Saturday, a stadium also staging its own farewell schedule, followed by a crucial home game against top-four rivals Aston Villa on Tuesday 22nd May – and an FA Cup semi-final against Forest at Wembley on Sunday 27th. Win all those three and it will all feel very different for City and the farewell tour will be gaining momentum.

In the meantime, just in case they don’t, console yourselves with footage of 10 years of De Bruyne’s goals and assists - and keep the memories alive while you can.