'I flew to the International Space Station but a message from Kevin De Bruyne made my week!' - NASA astronaut Doug Hurley opens up on love for Man City

Doug Hurley had just become the first commander to reach the International Space Station in a commercial spacecraft, making history for both NASA and SpaceX, and opening up a new era of spaceflight. But that wasn't the highlight of his week, let alone his career. Because the best part of the experience, he says, came when there was a message waiting for him on board from Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne.

Colonel Hurley has been to space three times, piloting the final Space Shuttle mission and the first SpaceX mission to the ISS. He is a decorated fighter pilot and has spent over 92 days in space. He's also a massive Manchester City fan.

With City beginning their week-long stay in Houston, home of NASA's Johnson Space Center where Hurley was based for over 20 years, he spoke to the Manchester Evening News about following City from space, comparing the mindsets of astronauts and Premier League footballers, and picking three Blues players who he'd want as ISS crewmates.

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"When you get ready to go on board the ISS there's a psychological support element on the ground," Doug tells MEN Sport, explaining how his love for City played a key role in his last trip to the ISS in 2020. "There's a team that sends videos up to you if you like a certain TV show, they can record those and send them up to watch on a laptop

"The year I flew we were in the midst of the pandemic and the season had been delayed. We launched at the end of May and I said I want to watch every City game I can.

"We had the ability to have one live channel piped up to Space Station and so when we were having dinner, we were watching Project Restart, and I