Kevin De Bruyne has played down the significance of Tottenham's new stadium, and questioned how 'special' it is, ahead of Manchester City's Champions League quarter-final clash with the north London side.
After months of delays, Spurs opened their £1bn stadium last week in the Premier League against Crystal Palace, and will host their first European game at their new home against City on Tuesday.
However, despite the potential added motivation for Mauricio Pochettino's side going into the game, De Bruyne has insisted that the new stadium will offer no added advantage for the hosts.
He said (as quoted by The Telegraph): "I don’t think there will be any difference. They will probably be a little bit more excited but in the end it’s a stadium with supporters. If they go to Wembley with 80,000 or there, it’s going to be the same. It will be a tough game but I think we will be alright.
"I don’t care about the stadium. I care about the team we play. Everybody talks about the stadium like it’s something special. Everybody has a stadium. Everybody has supporters. They will be up for it."
Despite helping City to victory in the FA Cup semi-final and keeping their quadruple hopes alive, De Bruyne was adamant that the heavy fixture schedule meant the players were not thinking too far ahead.
He added: "There is no point thinking about it. You know how heavy the fixture schedule is? I think people underestimate how the fixtures come that quickly. You can’t think about it.
"We don’t even have time to have a rest ourselves so how can we think about what’s going to happen in four weeks? We are just going to play on Tuesday and then hopefully play a good game."
Source :
90min
