How about a game of cricket to unwind after a long day? No, thanks, says Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, who was left hilariously shocked recently, after learning about the game’s popularity in Europe.

De Bruyne, along with his City teammate James McAtee, recently partook in a quiz segment for Manchester City, called ‘AI Showdown’, where both players were tasked with naming the five most popular sports that were followed in Europe.

The list revealed that football, cricket, basketball, tennis, and Formula 1 respectively were the most popular sports in the European continent, a revelation that left De Bruyne stunned, as his genuine surprise evoked laughter.

“How can cricket be second on the list? That’s a lie. “I don’t know anybody in Europe who watches cricket, let’s be honest," cracked the Man City star. 

Cricket’s popularity in Europe is developing, particularly due to the emergence of the European Cricket Council (ECC).

Europe as a region has the most number of members of the ICC, with 33 in total. There are varying degrees of growth across the membership in Europe outside of England.

From Scotland and Netherlands striving for the top tier of Associate members across the globe, to the newest members Hungary and Serbia, cricket has begun to develop a fan base in non-traditional markets.

While not as widespread as football, cricket is gaining traction, especially in areas with significant South Asian communities.

But, when the presenter replied affirmatively about cricket’s popularity, De Bruyne’s disbelief couldn’t be shattered as he hilariously retorted with, “Who? European people? No."

The Manchester City great continued his hilarious tirade, going on to state that he follows every other sport except for the ‘gentleman’s game’.

“Yeah, I watch everything else except cricket," exclaimed De Bruyne as he and the entire studio broke into laughter.

De Bruyne announced last Friday that he would part ways with the Mancunian side after the ongoing season after a dream 10-year spell with the Premier League side.