Credits: IMAGO / Sportsphoto, IMAGO Laci Perenyi

Although Max Verstappen was born in Hasselt, Belgium; he identifies himself as a proud Dutchman. However, Belgian soccer star Kevin de Bruyne has chosen to shun Verstappen’s Dutch identity and claimed that the 26-year-old is “basically Belgian“.

In a video put up by Manchester City, De Bruyne can be seen having a chat with Manchester City teammate Bernardo Silva. When asked who he would ask to accompany him to an F1 race weekend, De Bruyne replied, “Probably Nathan (Ake) because we watch F1 together“.

Silva then added that he knows several people are following Max Verstappen. On hearing the same, De Bruyne immediately replied, “He’s half Belgian“. Since Silva was shocked and seemed bemused by the 32-year-old’s reply, the Belgian midfielder clarified his remark.

De Bruyne said, “He’s born in Belgium and his mum is Belgian. So, he’s basically Belgian. I want to claim him“. Silva immediately laughed on hearing De Bruyne’s witty reply and said, “So, you want the world champion from your country“?

Verstappen was not only born in Belgium but also spent a significant part of his childhood in the country. However, since he always had a greater connection with the Dutch people, he often travelled to the Netherlands even when he stayed in Belgium. As a result, he decided to opt for a Dutch driver’s license instead of a Belgian one.

Since Verstappen has now gone on to win three world championships, it comes as no surprise why De Bruyne is making his best attempt to claim that the 26-year-old is Belgian. The Manchester City star is a huge fan of Verstappen and also met the Dutchman once in the Red Bull garage.

Kevin de Bruyne and Max Verstappen exchanged t-shirts

Both De Bruyne and Max Verstappen seem to be huge fans of each other’s sports. While De Bruyne supports Verstappen, the Red Bull driver supports Dutch soccer club PSV Eindhoven.

Since De Bruyne enjoys watching Verstappen compete, he also decided to attend the 2022 Belgian GP. During the race weekend, the 32-year-old received a tour of the Red Bull garage.

That is when De Bruyne and Verstappen also exchanged t-shirts. De Bruyne gave the Dutchman his Manchester City shirt, while the 26-year-old gave the Belgian midfielder a Red Bull t-shirt.

Since De Bruyne was a guest of Red Bull for the 2022 Belgian GP weekend, Martin Brundle also suggested that Christian Horner would have no concerns if he were to try one of their cars. Horner, who was present in the vicinity, gave a cheeky reply as he said, “Only if he plays for Coventry City“.