When Kevin De Bruyne is at his best, he is unstoppable. And when Kevin De Bruyne shows his best for Manchester City, it often comes at the Bernabeu.
De Bruyne's big-game record, particularly in finals, has been disrupted by injuries for City. His two Champions League finals have ended prematurely through injury. So when you recall De Bruyne's highest highs at City, his Bernabeu masterclasses come to mind.
There was 2020, when City announced themselves as genuine Champions League contenders with an historic win in Real Madrid's back yard. De Bruyne got a goal and assist. In 2023, he took the net off to earn a draw for City to set up their memorable 4-0 home win.
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De Bruyne was on the bench in last season's 3-3 draw, but the point remains. If you were to list De Bruyne's top five City appearances, it's hard to look past the 2020 and 2022 trips to the Bernabeu.
If City are to complete the impossible today and overturn their 3-2 first leg deficit, De Bruyne may need to roll back the years for another iconic masterclass.
But it is no longer guaranteed that he plays and if City don't win this could very possibly be his last dance for City in a truly big game.
Pep Guardiola thinks City have just a one per cent chance of progressing beyond the Real Madrid second leg, and there will be no Premier League title decider this term. Maybe there will be an FA Cup final and there is the Club World Cup circus in the US, but with a dwindling contract and no sign of progress on that front, there are no guarantees of another game as big as this one this season.
De Bruyne loves a big stage and there is no finer sight than arguably City's best-ever player schooling the biggest club in the world. However, this season is progressing in a way that raises doubts over his future past this season. He won't start talks until he's fully fit again but that fitness is impacting his consistency.
The Belgian hasn't properly recovered from his injury in 2023 and the flashes of his brilliance are not as frequent as the games he isn't influencing like he used to. The unwanted argument for parting ways in the summer and giving De Bruyne a legendary send-off are growing - even if it is also true that extending his deal is nowhere near a bad option.
The De Bruyne contract call should also be made with Ilkay Gundogan's situation in mind.
City only wanted to offer Gundogan a one-year deal with the option of a second in 2023 even when he was winning them the title. It was a controversial and unpopular stance at the time but one that has proven to stand the test of time - we are in the second year of that contract scenario and Gundogan is miles off the player he was when he lifted the Champions League and scored 12 seconds into the FA Cup final.
Last week he admitted that the pace of the Premier League has surprised him since he returned from a year away, according to Guardiola. Part of that is down to being overplayed due to the injury crisis, of course, but City's reluctance to offer that second year is becoming more relevant.
Like De Bruyne, Gundogan's place in City's history is written and secured. There is an option of a second year on his current contract to take up this summer yet his deal is another that it may not make sense to extend.
As much as both players are struggling to be as consistent as they were in their younger days, they are both capable of winning games for City. If one or both fire City past Madrid, nobody will be surprised and everybody will be delighted.
Yet as Guardiola talks of a summer where tough decisions must be made, and City face an uphill battle in Madrid, Guardiola will select the team he thinks can win the game without any sentiment.
He will hope - as every City fan will - that there are still more chances to see two genuine club legends on the big stage after the full time whistle goes at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
They can both influence their own City futures with another star showing in Real Madrid's back yard.
