Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed that it was the club’s decision to not offer Kevin De Bruyne a new contract so that they would have more funds to continue their dramatic squad overhaul this summer.
De Bruyne announced that he would leave City at the end of the current campaign on Friday in an emotional social media post without revealing which party was behind the decision to part ways.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s time to say goodbye,” the 33-year-old wrote after a decade in Manchester.
Guardiola has previously stressed that discussions over De Bruyne’s future did not concern him. “What happens belongs to him and the club,” the Catalan coach claimed in February.
Yet, after the news was unveiled this week, Guardiola outlined his involvement in the process which was ultimately taken out of De Bruyne’s control.
“The decision has been made for the club, and the club is the club,” City’s boss admitted. “Me, Txiki [Begiristain – City’s sporting director], and the club, so this is what it is. It was not easy for me to tell him it won’t continue.”
Guardiola had hinted at a potential parting of ways for De Bruyne and several other injury-prone members of City’s squad earlier this season.
“We have to sit down with the doctors, with physios, with the players, with the agents, and be clear that some of them cannot sustain every three days, every month, every two months, playing every three, four days,” the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona manager admitted.
De Bruyne’s body has failed to keep up with football’s unrelenting schedule over the previous two seasons, as Guardiola pointed out this week:”The last year and a half he was out injured because he gave everything for the club. Everything he had in his body and his mind, he’s done it, so there’s no doubt about it.”
The Telegraph claims that De Bruyne is paid in the region of £400,000 per week.
If this figure is accurate, the Belgian’s departure will free up almost £21m for City to spend across next season, be that on transfer fees or the salary of a new arrival.
City have long been linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz, although they will have to outmanoeuvre Real Madrid for a player expected to command more than £100m.
- Kevin De Bruyne announced his departure on Friday
- The 33-year-old will be out of contract in June
- Pep Guardiola revealed his role in the process.