Kevin de Bruyne, Belgium’s most decorated midfielder of his generation, found himself in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable seat during what appears to be his final World Cup match. Not in the center of the pitch orchestrating play, but on the bench, watching.

For a player who became the first Belgian to score in three different World Cups during the 2026 edition, the image of him sitting on the sideline carries a particular weight.

A four-tournament career winds down

Belgium advanced from Group G after dismantling New Zealand 5-1 on June 27, 2026. De Bruyne played a significant role in that result alongside longtime strike partner Romelu Lukaku, and his scoring record across three separate World Cups cemented a statistical legacy that no Belgian player had previously achieved.

Now at Napoli after his long tenure in the Premier League, de Bruyne has embraced the role of elder statesman for the Belgian squad. He’s spoken about wanting to continue representing his country as long as his body allows.

The crypto connection

De Bruyne has served as a brand ambassador for the crypto exchange Phemex since May 2022, a partnership built around educational initiatives designed to connect football fans with cryptocurrency trading.

Panini, the collectible card company synonymous with football fandom for decades, has issued blockchain-based NFT collectibles featuring de Bruyne as part of its Series A collection. There’s also an unofficial meme token called KEVIN that exists on the Solana blockchain, though it bears no official connection to de Bruyne himself.

What this means for investors watching sports and crypto converge

De Bruyne’s Phemex ambassadorship has now survived over four years, which in crypto-sports partnership terms is practically geological time.

For the NFT market specifically, athlete-branded collectibles like the Panini blockchain cards represent one of the more defensible use cases in a sector that has largely cratered from its 2021 highs. Panini already has decades of brand equity in physical collectibles.

The meme token phenomenon, represented here by the unofficial KEVIN token on Solana, illustrates a persistent dynamic in crypto. Investors should treat any athlete-named token without verified official backing as exactly what it is: a gamble attached to someone else’s fame without their consent or involvement.