Kevin De Bruyne’s decade-long journey at Manchester City came to an end with their 2-0 win over Fulham in the Premier League on May 25.
Back in April, De Bruyne announced that he would leave Man City by the end of the 2024-25 season, and later, it was revealed that the Belgian star will not be playing for the club in the FIFA Club World Cup.
De Bruyne was given a grand farewell at the Etihad Stadium on May 20 after Man City’s league clash against Bournemouth. The club also announced that they will be commissioning a statue of him to honor the midfield maestro.
Now that he has bid his goodbyes to Man City, questions about De Bruyne’s next destination have surfaced amid interest from several top clubs. Despite the 33-year-old mentioning his aversion to uprooting his family and making a move away from the Premier League, he has been heavily linked with a move to Italian club Napoli.
Reports also suggested that Napoli are hoping that De Bruyne’s friendship with his national teammate Romelu Lukaku, who joined the Serie A side last year, will help them acquire the midfielder’s signature.
Now, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis’ recent comments on De Bruyne have hinted that the Man City legend might potentially be seen in the Serie A next season.
What did Napoli president say about Kevin De Bruyne?
Napoli were crowned champions of the Serie A this season. During their victory parade on Monday, club president De Laurentiis revealed that he has recently been in contact with De Bruyne.
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De Laurentiis also told (comments via Daily Mail) Italian broadcaster RAI that De Bruyne has recently purchased a villa in Italy.
“Will he get to lift this cup too? Probably yes. I know that he’s sorted a few things already and I believe he’s already bought a beautiful villa. This morning I was on a video call with him, his wife and his nine-year-old son and it was a beautiful sight,” he said.
Reporters then asked De Laurentiis if his comments were confirmation of De Bruyne joining Napoli, to which he replied,
“Not yet. Until it’s in black and white, there will be no confirmation.”
Several reports have suggested that Napoli have presented De Bruyne with a two-year contract with an option to extend for a further season.
Italian outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport reported that De Bruyne could be earning about €25million (£21m) from the deal, with him initially receiving a €10m (£8m) signing bonus, and €5.5m (£4.6m) per season, with performance-based add-ons potentially increasing that salary.
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