PEP GUARDIOLA believes Kevin De Bruyne will choose to leave Manchester City when he is no longer a key player.
The Belgian sees his contract up this summer and boss Guardiola said: “I’m pretty sure Kevin will be honest.
EPAKevin De Bruyne will aim to go out at his best, says boss Pep Guardiola[/caption]
“He will want to finish here after this season or the next one, at his best.
“I don’t think he will be here when he doesn’t feel he can be the Kevin that can produce and help the team like he has done in the last decade.
“In these kind of situations — like with David Silva — he will decide the best for him and the team.
“It’s maybe not playing every three days for 11 months but I’m pretty sure he has to play as the best Kevin as possible. Unfortunately with injuries he could not deliver that.”
De Bruyne negotiated his last four-year deal — worth £66million — in 2021. With the help of two lawyers, but no agent, he used data analytics to highlight his value to City.
He will be 34 in the summer and his last two seasons have been hit by serious injuries.
De Bruyne became City’s talisman and a Prem star over the last decade after making a £54m move from Wolfsburg in 2015. But injuries have restricted him to just 25 starts since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
He will be targeted by clubs in the MLS and Saudi Arabia if he does decide to bring the curtain down on his Etihad stay.
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He revealed he spoke with the club in the summer but then put talks on hold after a fresh groin injury.
Asked what the future holds, he said: “Honestly, I don’t know. I unfortunately had that thing against Brentford. So I’ve put basically everything to the side. I was not in the right frame of mind.
“I was hoping to be out for a couple of days and it ended up being eight or nine weeks. So for the moment I’d rather get better first and see how I am and the rest will come.
“There’s no rush. Talks will come and if they don’t it’s my last year.”
If he does stay, KDB now knows he can carry on working with Guardiola who last week signed a new two-year deal at the Etihad.
Asked if that would be a factor, he said: “It could help. But maybe he’ll say ‘Kevin, thank you. Time to leave’.”