Kevin De Bruyne equals David Beckham's career assist tally with 259 for club and country

Kevin De Bruyne last night notched his 259th career assist, equalling the career record of David Beckham and doing it in 15,000 fewer minutes than the former England skipper.

It was the reliable combination of De Bruyne and Erling Haaland once again for Manchester City in their Champions League quarter-final second leg clash with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

The Belgian finding the City striker following John Stones' clearance to see Haaland score and fire Pep Guardiola's men safely through with a 4-1 aggregate win over the Bundesliga side.

In setting up the Norwegian, De Bruyne recorded his 259th assist across his career, a figure that puts him level with the career record of Beckham - a player renowned for his assists thanks to his incredible crossing ability.

De Bruyne's tally, however, came in 15,000 fewer minutes than the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, which is around 167 full games.

It won't be long before the the 31-year-old surpasses Becks' record and next in his sights are Cristiano Ronaldo on 268 and World Cup winner Angel di Maria with 277.

However, the City star will have to go along way to match Lionel Messi's total of 390, believed to be the most recorded in the modern era.

De Bruyne once again leads the way on Premier League assists this season with 15, five more than Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, and is closing in on the Premier League record of 20 in one season held jointly by himself in 2019-20 and Thierry Henry in 2002-03.

In total the Belgian captain has 101 Premier League assists and his currently fifth in the all-time ranking behind Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas and Giggs' record of 162.

Although he should bypass Lampard and Rooney by the end of this current campaign as he's only a two away from moving up to third in the all-time Premier League list.

Haaland has been the huge beneficiary of De Bruyne's assists this season, with the pair combining once again against Bayern to send Manchester City through to the Champions League semi-finals, where they'll play Real Madrid.

De Bruyne praised his teammate after the game, who earlier blazed a penalty over the bar, before recovering to secure City's path into the last four.

The Belgian said: 'Knowing him he will not be happy with missing the penalty but it is over then.

'When you have another chance you have to go again. He had the opportunity, finished it with class and he helps us win games.'

City are looking to complete a historic treble, with an FA Cup semi-final clash with Sheffield United this weekend before they meet Arsenal in vital match that could determine the destination of the Premier League title.