Kevin De Bruyne believes Premier League denied him assist record that Bruno Fernandes now holds

Former Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne believes that the Premier League wrongly denied him an assist record which is now held by Bruno Fernandes.

Fernandes registered his 21st Premier League assist of the season during Manchester United's 3-0 win at Brighton on Sunday, setting up Patrick Dorgu's goal.

The Portugal midfielder then went on to score his ninth goal of the campaign to seal victory on the final day of the season.

Fernandes was named as the Premier League Player of the Season on Saturday, becoming the first United player since Nemanja Vidic in 2011 to win the award.

It has been a remarkable campaign for the 31-year-old, who has played a pivotal role in United finishing third and securing Champions League football under the interim management of Michael Carrick.

Carrick signed a permanent two-year contract on Friday, having initially replaced Ruben Amorim in January.

But Fernandes should not be the outright holder of the assist record - at least according to De Bruyne himself.

'They took one away...' - De Bruyne has claimed Premier League assist record

De Bruyne registered 20 assists during the 2019/20 season, drawing him level with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry.

During the first game after the Premier League's COVID-enforced suspension, the Belgian played an important role as City defeated Arsenal 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

He scored the second goal for Pep Guardiola's side from the penalty spot on 51 minutes.

But, during a September 2023 interview with the Premier League, De Bruyne stated that he should have been given the assist for Raheem Sterling's opener in the first half.

De Bruyne's lofted through ball caught the knee of David Luiz before it bounced into the path of Sterling, who found the back of the net from close range.

Luiz would later pull down Riyad Mahrez to concede a penalty and was sent off.

The Premier League didn't give an assist credit to De Bruyne over his pass because of Luiz's inadvertent touch.

"They still took one away from me, against Arsenal," De Bruyne said.

"They took one away, and when they celebrated my 100th assist, they put it as the first clip in their video!

"Can you imagine that, how wrong they were?"

He publicly complained about losing his assist during the 2019/20 season, stating 'I still don't understand it'.

The Premier League then removed a second assist from his record that season - coincidentally, also against Arsenal but this time in the away fixture.

When the Premier League's official Twitter account posted that he had recorded 16 assists up to that point, he replied: "18."