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Kevin de Bruyne admits Manchester City cannot compare with Liverpool – and it may take as long as 50 years to get on the same level as the Anfield side.

De Bruyne was speaking ahead of City's Champions League round of 16 clash with Monaco tomorrow evening.

And the Belgium international accepts his current side don't have the history of the likes of the Reds.

“People talk about teams like Man United and Liverpool, with the history they have,” said De Bruyne.

“Obviously they are great teams and you cannot compare us to them because we didn't have the time that they've had already for doing what they did in the Champions League.

“They've been there for multiple years and we've only been there for five or six years. We need the same amount of time to compare to them in the Champions League.

“For me (history means) nothing, but for a lot of people in the world it means everything. That's why people are talking about Man City a little bit less than they do the other teams.

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“Everybody in England will be very proud about the English teams achieving a lot in Europe, but we also want the chance to try that.

“If we do it for another 50 years and then we have a couple of Champions Leagues, people will maybe also look differently at us.”

De Bruyne's positive comments about Liverpool shouldn't come as a surprise.

When he signed for Chelsea in 2012, he revealed his entire family were Reds.

“I have always followed the Premier League because my mother is half English,” he said.

“We probably followed it more than Belgian football and, when I was young, we liked Liverpool.”