Kevin De Bruyne is asking Man City a Ballon d'Or question with no easy answer

"It's a message for all our fans, don't take for granted watching Kevin De Bruyne play," said Roberto Martinez on Thursday. "For me he's the most incredible playmaker in world football at this present time."

Martinez, the Belgium manager, was speaking after De Bruyne effortlessly scored a technically-brilliant goal in their Nations League win over Wales, before adding an assist to his collection in a 2-1 win. His world class assessment of De Bruyne is far from exaggeration, as the midfielder has been in brilliant form so far this season for Manchester City and now his country.

Pep Guardiola has stressed that his main priority from this international break is for all of his players to return injury-free, with De Bruyne probably his biggest worry after previous setbacks. However, the better De Bruyne plays for Belgium, the better it could be for City in the long-run — even if they may have to hold their breath for a year to reap the benefits.

ALSO READ: England could draw on Pep Guardiola tactics at Man City to solve burning World Cup issue

De Bruyne's contribution against Wales takes him to nine assists and two goals in 11 games for club and country this season. His brilliant solo goal against Bournemouth and his fine strike on Thursday have been complemented by two assists in as many Champions League games, plus six in the Premier League as he has quickly developed a devastating partnership with Erling Haaland.

He has spoken of the advantages of coming into this season without having played in a summer tournament, giving him some time to completely switch off, whereas last season he was overworked for Belgium at Euro 2020 after a long season with City. He'd literally put his body on the line to try and win the Champions