Kevin De Brunye has announced he will leave Manchester City at the end of this season.
Belgium midfielder De Bruyne joined City from Wolfsburg in 2015 for £54 million, a fee derided in some quarters after an underwhelming spell at Chelsea.
The 33-year-old has gone on to unquestionably mark himself out as one of City’s all-time greats, along with being counted among the finest players of the Premier League era.
De Bruyne has six winners’ medals in England’s top flight among 14 major honours won at City overall.
One of those was the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League as part of a treble success, a trophy long craved by De Bruyne and his manager Pep Guardiola.
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The two embraced emotionally on the field afterwards, with documentary cameras capturing a tearful Guardiola saying: “Seven years of fighting, we did it. We did it, Kev! Now we have it!”
In hindsight, that 1-0 victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul was the beginning of the end for De Bruyne, who suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of the final. A serious recurrence of the injury in the first Premier League game of the following season at Burnley necessitated surgery and although De Bruyne starred with a goal and an assist on his top-flight return at Newcastle in January 2024, he has largely been a diminished force since.
What Kevin De Bruyne said about leaving Man City
In a statement posted on his social media channels, De Bruyne said: “Manchester, 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.”
De Bruyne added: “Every story comes to an end, but this has definitely been the best chapter. Let’s enjoy these last moments together.”
More to follow
