14 hours Ago
Kevin De Bruyne has announced that he will be leaving Manchester City at the end of the season. The 33-year-old, whose contract expires at the end of June, joined the Citizens in the summer of 2015 from Wolfsburg for a fee of £54.5m, one that raised many eyebrows at the time.
However, De Bruyne has enjoyed a legendary decade at the Etihad Stadium and will go down as one of Man City's greatest players after winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five EFL Cups and the Champions League. The Belgium international, who is the longest serving player in Pep Guardiola 's current squad, was also part of the historic treble-winning team in 2022-23 and helped the Citizens win an unprecedented fourth consecutive English top-flight title last season. De Bruyne has played 413 times for Man City across all competitions and he is the club's seventh all-time top scorer with 106 goals.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest playmakers of his generation, De Bruyne has also registered an impressive 174 assists, and is only behind Ryan Giggs (162) on the all-time assist list in Premier League history (118). Amidst fitness troubles and speculation about his future, with a move to either MLS or Saudi Arabia having been mooted, De Bruyne has now made the decision to seek pastures new and has released an emotional statement to confirm his exit from Man City. A statement released on his social media platforms read: "Seeing this, you probably realise where this is heading.
"So I'll get straight to it and let you all know that these will be my final months as a Manchester City player. "Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here - and you deserve to hear it from me first.
"Football led me to all of you - and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life. "This city.
This club. These people..
. gave me EVERYTHING. I had no choice but to give EVERYTHING "back! And guess what - we won EVERYTHING.
Whether we like it or not, it's time to say goodbye. "Suri, Rome, Mason, Michele, and I are beyond grateful for what this place has meant to our family. "Manchester" will forever be on our kids' passports— and more importantly, in each of our hearts.
This will always be our HOME. "We cannot thank the city, club, staff, teammates, friends, and family enough for this 10-year ride. "Every story comes to an end, but this has definitely been the best chapter.
Let's enjoy these last moments together! Much love, KDB." One name who has been continuously linked with a potential move to Man City is Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz , last season's Bundesliga Player of the Year who is believed to be wanted by a number of top European clubs this summer. The 21-year-old, who has recorded 15 goals and 13 assists in 39 games so far this season, has allegedly been identified by Man City as a 'dream replacement' for De Bruyne, but it will likely take an astronomical fee in excess of £125m to prise him away from Leverkusen.
Wirtz's German compatriot Jamal Musiala is another who has been linked with Man City and other European giants, but in February he extended his contract at Bayern Munich until 2030, so the Citizens will likely have to look elsewhere this summer. A potentially cheaper alternative to both Wirtz and Musiala could be Crystal Palace and England midfielder Eberechi Eze , who was on Man City's radar both last summer and in January, and is believed to have a £60m release clause in his contract that expires in June 2027. Eze has established himself as a star player with the Eagles and, like both Wirtz and Musiala, is comfortable operating in a number of different positions in the final third.
The 26-year-old has contributed with six goals and 10 assists in 32 games for Palace this season. Man City may instead decide to splash the cash on other areas of the pitch and rely on someone already at the club to fill the extremely large boots of De Bruyne - namely 19-year-old South American starlet Claudio Echeverri who has been dubbed the 'next Lionel Messi ' by Argentine media. Echeverri followed in the footsteps of Julian Alvarez by swapping River Plate for Man City, joining in January, and although he is yet to feature for Guardiola's side this year, the versatile attacker is rated highly by the Citizens and he could have a more significant role to play at the club next season.
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