Man City Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to Leave in the Summer

The day is finally here. Premier League’s best midfielder and Manchester City legend, Kevin De Bruyne, has officially announced that he will not be signing a new contract with the club and will depart at the end of the season. 

De Bruyne’s decision has made every fan with Man City tickets emotional. 

They were not ready to see him depart. 

De Bruyne Leaves 

De Bruyne joined Manchester City in the summer of 2015. In the 10 years since he has anchored the side, been their playmaker, and eventually carved his way to being a club legend. 

The Belgian has made 413 appearances for the club, scoring 106 goals and 174 assists.

He is also the most decorated player in Manchester City’s history, winning 19 trophies, including six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and the club’s first-ever Champions League trophy. The midfielder could still add to his record, with City recently reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

De Bruyne began his professional career with KRC Genk before moving to Chelsea in 2012. After struggling at the London club, he spent time on loan at Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg. Based on his performances in Germany, Manchester City signed the Belgian for a fee of 55 million euros.

Saudi Arabia Interest?

The last two seasons have not gone as planned for De Bruyne, who has struggled with a series of hamstring injuries. Even after recovering, manager Pep Guardiola increasingly relegated him to the bench. 

With his contract expiring in June, it became clear that his time in Manchester was coming to an end.

De Bruyne’s future remains to be seen. With his current wages of 400,000 pounds a week—making him the highest-paid footballer in England—a return to Belgium seems unlikely. Last year, the midfielder told Het Laatste Nieuws that he was not ruling anything out, not even Saudi Arabia.

“At my age, you have to be open to everything. You’re talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career,” De Bruyne said. “If I play there for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money.”

Even neutral non-Man City fans will agree that De Bruyne was a class act that impacted how the world sees midfielders. He brought identity to the role and gave a sense of his playing style. 

He will always remain an unforgettable player among everyone with Man City tickets.

City Won’t Qualify for the Champions League? 

There is a dark cloud heading towards Manchester City if they fail to get through their remaining Premier League games in the next few weeks, and it might not look good on the fans with Man City tickets. 

For the first time in over a decade, the club faces an existential crisis, so failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season. 

After a disastrous season in Man City’s terms, the club now faces a massive mountain climb to close in on that all-important fourth spot if they want to play in the highest competition in Europe next season. 

And the fans are worried. 

While Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are in the unlikely position of having to battle desperately for a Champions League berth next season, the manager did not mince his words in describing the enormity of the challenge.

City dropped points in a 2-2 Premier League home draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in the last Premier League game, leaving the champions provisionally in fifth place with nine games to go.

“Until the end, I think so,” Guardiola told reporters. “Nine games, nine finals.

“I’m always confident,” he added. “I am a master. I find the positiveness in everything. I know it will be difficult.”

Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush struck for City, who looked poised for victory at Etihad Stadium before City defender Abdukodir Khusanov’s own goal meant the teams had to settle for a point apiece, Brighton’s first at Etihad.

“It is a fact we won the first point here but more a disappointing feeling we didn’t go home with three points,” said Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler.

Haaland made history by achieving 100 Premier League goal involvements quicker than anyone before, in 94 games, six fewer than former Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and England striker Alan Shearer.

“Not bad,” Guardiola smiled.

The afternoon featured an unwanted record for the manager, however, as Khusanov’s own goal was the 40th conceded in the league this season, the most by any City team managed by Guardiola in a single campaign.

“We started the second half 2-1 up and had a good chance,” Guardiola said. “In the corner, we were sloppy, and they equalized, then we were unstable. That is normal.

“We came back in the game and had really good moments. They had one clear chance then, but we were there, and we pushed until the end. We’ll take the point.”

Guardiola adds that everyone with Man City tickets will anxiously watch the next eight games in their Premier League calendar, knowing that even one result can change their fortunes. 

With the 2-0 win against Leicester City in their cards, Manchester City can afford to take a slight breather before they head to the much more critical clashes. 

The Leicester game should liven up the spirits of the team that was looking for one final onslaught to finish in the top four.

City Go to Court 

Sky Sports News understands that Manchester City has taken the next step in their latest legal action against the Premier League over Associated Party Transactions.

The Premier League has notified other clubs about the statement of claim.

The APT rules regulate commercial deals between clubs and companies linked to their owners, requiring them to be of “fair market value.”

This legal action is separate to the one covering more than 100 charges against City for alleged breaches of Premier League financial rules. The city denies the charges.

City brought the legal challenge after the Premier League blocked it from advancing new, more lucrative deals with Etihad Airways and First Abu Dhabi Bank. UAE vice-president Sheikh Mansour owns the Premier League champions.

An arbitration panel ruling in February found fault with the Premier League’s ability to create rules as a regulator, following an initial verdict in October.

The league responded by rewriting three areas of the rules found to be illegal, and the revisions were passed by a majority of clubs in November.

But City is also challenging the legality of the new rules designed to prevent the wealthiest clubs from inflating the value of deals to spend more on players and comply with Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR).