- Planet Sport writer
- 23 July 2024
Pep Guardiola dismisses Saudi move for Man City's Kevin de Bruyne
Pep Guardiola has confirmed Kevin de Bruyne is "not leaving" Manchester City this season, dismissing rumours of a transfer to Saudi Arabia.
Kevin De Bruyne is a Belgian soccer player who currently plays for Manchester City, where he is vice-captain.
The midfielder is widely thought of as one of the best players in the world, with his extraordinary range of passing and dribbling ability just a couple of impressive attributes.
De Bruyne has won 13 domestic trophies in his career, including two Premier League titles, four EFL Cups and an FA Cup won at Man City.
His club-record move to the Etihad Stadium for $75million was questioned by many after his failure to make an impact with Chelsea a few years earlier, but Man City would certainly not go on to regret their decision.
The playmaker has been an integral part of their squad, especially under Pep Guardiola, and has not only helped Man City to trophies, but he has also earned individual honours along the way.
De Bruyne was named Premier League Player of the Season in 2019/20, as well as being named PFA Players' Player of the Year and finishing second in the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award in the same campaign. He has won Man CIty's Player of the Season award three times.
De Bruyne plays an equally key role for national side Belgium, who achieved a third-placed finish at the 2018 World Cup.
Manchester City years
De Bruyne joined Manchester City for a club-record fee of $75million under Manuel Pellegrini, but most of his success was to come later under Pep Guardiola.
The midfielder had a strong first campaign with the club, being named Player of the Season, and also being responsible for scoring the goal which sent Man City into the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history.
Kevin De Bruyne celebrates his goal
In the 2017/18 campaign, Guardiola's second in charge, KDB was again named Player of the Season in a record-breaking side.
Man City became the first Premier League team to break the 100-point mark and that unsurprisingly resulted in a title win - De Bruyne's first at the club. He was recognised for his creativity, being named Playmaker of the Season, and he also earned a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
2018/19 was a frustrating campaign for the Belgian as he missed a lot of it through injury, but he still more than played his part as Man City became the first English men's side to win the domestic treble.
He played just 38 minutes in the 6-0 FA Cup final demolition of Watford, but his goal and two assists saw him earn the man of the match award.
Pep Guardiola hoping Kevin De Bruyne commits future to Manchester City
De Bruyne's best campaign arguably came in 2019/20, despite Guardiola's men being well beaten to the title by Liverpool.
He contributed 13 goals and 20 assists in the Premier League - with the latter seeing him equal Thierry Henry's record of assists made in a single Premier League season.
He also became the first to reach 20 assists in two of Europe's top leagues, after doing so previously with Wolfsburg. De Bruyne was named Premier League Player of the Season, PFA Players' Player of the Year and he finished second in the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award.
Spell at Chelsea
De Bruyne made his debut for Belgian side Genk as a 17-year-old and quickly worked his way up to becoming a regular there.
Kevin De Bruyne, Chelsea, Premier League, August 2013
He won three trophies with them, including a league title, before joining Chelsea on January transfer deadline day for a reported fee of $9.5million, though he returned to Genk on loan for the remainder of the season.
His time at Stamford Bridge just didn't work out, though, as he played just nine times for the Blues. On his return from Genk, he was again sent out on loan, this time to Wolfsburg, where he had an excellent season.
Kevin De Bruyne, Wolfsburg, Europa League, September 2014
Chelsea fans were excited about the prospect of his return, but under Jose Mourinho, De Bruyne found gametime extremely limited and the midfielder has since revealed that he only ever had two conversations with his manager. He was sold to Wolfsburg for $24.5million.
International career with Belgium
De Bruyne made his debut for Belgium in 2010 and has since been a part of the country's golden generation. Playing alongside the likes of Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku, Belgium have established themselves as one of the best national sides in world football.
The midfielder scored four goals in qualification for the 2014 World Cup, helping his nation to their first major tournament in 12 years.
Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium, International Football, King Baudouin Stadium
They reached the quarter-finals in that competition, a feat which they repeated at Euro 2016, before going an extra step in the 2018 World Cup. De Bruyne impressed throughout the whole tournament in Russia, but no performance was better than in the quarter-final victory over Brazil.
De Bruyne pulled the strings in Belgium's 2-1 win, scoring a wonderful goal from 20 yards and being named man of the match. The Red Devils were defeated in the semi-finals, though, by France, but they did go on to win the third-place playoff against England.
De Bruyne was also influential for the Red Devils in Euro 2020 as they made their way to the quarter-finals, where they were defeated by Italy. De Bruyne scored the decisive goal in the group stage match against Denmark, but was then injured in the last-16 clash against Portugal due to a tackle from behind by Joao Palhinha.
Kevin De Bruyne's personal life
De Bruyne has been in a relationship with Michele Lacroix since 2014 and the pair got married in June 2017. They have three children together: Mason, Rome and Suri. It was reported in 2014 that De Bruyne's ex-girlfriend Caroline Lijnen had cheated on him with Belgium team-mate Thibaut Courtois.
His family consists of mother Anna, father Herwig and his sister Stefanie. De Bruyne grew up supporting Liverpool and used to have the club's bedsheets, as well as a Michael Owen replica shirt.
De Bruyne moved away from home at the age of just 14 to join Genk and spent a year with a foster family, but they did not want him to return the next year. He has since called that a turning point in his career.
The midfielder helped raise more than $2million to try and tackle COVID-19 by taking part in a live stream of video game Fortnite alongside England midfielder Dele Alli.
Kevin De Bruyne's net worth
De Bruyne signed a new five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium in 2018, reported to be worth around $410,000-a-week, according to the Daily Mail.
Man City are looking to tie the Belgian down on a longer term contract in the future and are said to be willing to offer $480,000. His net worth is around the $32million mark and his endorsements include Nike, EA Sports and Orange.
De Bruyne is represented by Roc Nation Sports, a management company founded by US rapper Jay-Z.
