Manchester City winning the Champions League, according to Kevin De Bruyne, would "alter the viewpoint" of the club. Since 2011, City has won 13 major trophies, yet they have yet to win Europe's top club championship. They were beaten as semi-finalists in 2015-16, but following three quarter-final exits in a row, they reached their first Champions League final last year, losing 1-0 to Chelsea.
They lead the tie 4-3 heading into Wednesday's semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, and De Bruyne said before the match: "I think that (winning the competition) would change the perspective from the outside."
"Obviously, as a player, you want to win trophies, and this is one of them." But I believe that the fact that we've been fighting for years and are now in the final phases indicates that we've done exceptionally well. "It's a cup competition, and the level is quite good, so winning it is extremely difficult, and there are a variety of things that might occur."
"I believe that in the end, if you look at how we performed, or how I performed, throughout my seven years with the squad, we did extremely well." But, clearly, we didn't win, and I believe that winning would just change the narrative."
"I think we're in a very good place," the Belgian midfielder added. Obviously, we haven't won it yet, and I believe that will be the only criticism we will receive.
"For the rest, I believe we've been there several times and have always fought to win this competition." So our consistency as a club has been incredible, and I believe we are on par with everybody else. But all we have to do now is try to cross the finish line, and tomorrow is another step."
Real won the 2015-16 semi-final 1-0 at home after a 0-0 first-leg tie, and went on to win the trophy for the second time in three years, with two more victories in 2017 and 2018.
"I'm assuming we're in better shape now," De Bruyne, who was in his first season at City at the time, remarked.
"I believe I recall when we played that game, we weren't having the best of seasons at the time, and Madrid was the superpower." I know we lost 1-0 in the end due to our own goal, but if my memory serves me well, it was a really dull game.
"I believe we're in a better position right now; I believe we're more set up as a team, we play better, and we have more experience at this level, so maybe we'll be better equipped."
In last week's exciting first leg, De Bruyne scored first and then assisted Gabriel Jesus to double City's lead shortly after.
When asked if he was in the best form of his career, De Bruyne said: "You people can tell me, I don't know." The 30-year-old was then kept on the bench by Pep Guardiola for Saturday's 4-0 Premier League triumph at Leeds.
"The first few months (of the season) were incredibly tough (when he was injured), and I've never felt pain like that before." I tried to return, but I was in constant pain with my ankle, and it wasn't something I appreciated. Mentally, I'd say it was difficult to overcome as well.
"But as the pain went away after a few months, I started to feel more confident in myself and my body to get back to where I think I belong, and now that I'm playing all these games and playing them week in and week out, I feel like I'm back to where I was before."
"Is there a significant difference from before?" I'm not sure. I simply want to be as consistent as possible, and I think I've done quite well this year."
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