Manchester City fans will have known this day would come at some point, but that hasn't made it any easier now it has arrived.
Kevin De Bruyne has left an indellible mark on the Premier League during his 10 years at the Etihad Stadium. The announcement of his exit in the summer marks the beginning of the end for one of the division's greatest ever players.
His penchant for perfectly-weighted through balls that arc behind opposition defences to present a simple finish to a teammate have widened eyes, dropped jaws and sparked a series of memes referencing his mastery of the assist.
De Bruyne became one of Pep Guardiola's most trusted lieutenants during City's unprecedented reign as the kings of English football and the playmaker has become so famous that he is referred to by his initials -- "KDB" -- as commonly as he is by his full name.
The Belgium international has lifted 16 trophies during his time at City, including six Premier League titles, five Carabao Cups, two FA Cups, two Community Shields and a Champions League. Not bad for a midfielder who José Mourinho overlooked during his short spell at Chelsea.
De Bruyne's place alongside City's modern legends such as Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Sergio Agüero is assured, but is he the best midfielder to have graced the Premier League?
ESPN takes a deep dive into De Bruyne's career numbers:
De Bruyne has contributed the second-most assists in Premier League history (118). Only Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs has registered more (162).
The midfielder is tied with Thierry Henry for the most assists registered in a single Premier League season (20).
Since joining City in 2015, he has created 826 chances -- almost 300 more than any other Premier League player in that time. Christian Eriksen is second on the list with 532. De Bruyne's 187 goal contributions in that span ranks him fourth -- behind Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Tottenham Hotspur duo Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min.
Of players who have made more than 50 appearances in the Premier League, De Bruyne has the best minutes per assist ratio in the competition's history (177).
No player in Europe's top five leagues has assisted more goals (118) or created more chances (827) than De Bruyne since 2015.
In January, the 33-year-old became the 15th man to reach 400 appearances in all competitions for City.
Only seven players have made more appearances for City than De Bruyne.
De Bruyne finished third in the Ballon d'Or voting in 2022, behind Sadio Mané and winner Karim Benzema.
He was named the Premier League Player of the Season in 2019-20 and 2021-22.
De Bruyne has been recognised as City's player of the season four times. He has also been named in the Champions League team of the season on two occasions.
The Belgian has won the most Premier League playmaker awards (awarded to the player who ends the season with the most assists). He won the award in 2017-18, 2019-20 and 2022-23.
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this report