De Bruyne may vote for the Premier League rival! Manchester City abandons the transfer market

When a football player leaves his parent team for many years (which is also the place where his golden years of his career) there are usually three options. The first is to follow the example of many celebrities such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Jamie Carragher and Gerald Pique, and choose to retire directly to ensure that they will never let down those fans who have established a deep emotional bond with them.

The second (and most common path) is to continue your career but move to overseas leagues, preferably a league with less competitive pressure and unlikely to encounter old owners. Steven Gerrard, Harvey Hernandez and Andrez Iniesta all chose this path - leaving with legendary status and enjoying the adventures of the end of their career after their peak period.

The third type is the rarest and most controversial choice: join the competitors and smash the old club’s dream of winning with your own hands, so that they will always regret letting you go. Louis Figo and Sol Campbell are the most famous cases, although both of them unilaterally decided to leave the team and completely ruined their reputation in the parent team in the process. But what about those players who have no say in leaving the team and think they have been unfairly expelled? They gave everything to the club, but they didn't even get a word of thanks.

This is exactly the dilemma that Kevin De Bruyne is currently facing. After being "dissuaded from" by Manchester City, he is weighing the next choice. At first, the outside world thought he would choose the second path, ending his career comfortably in the MLS (Major League of Professional Football) - International Miami, San Diego FC and Chicago Flames are all potential next homes. But now, he is not only likely to stay in Europe, but may even continue to compete in the Premier League and become Manchester City's "nightmare".

Liverpool reportedly contacted the Belgian midfielder to discuss the contract. Considering his recent performance like a decisive needle, other Premier League clubs should line up and try their best to convince him to continue to stay in the world's No. 1 league.

Cruyff and Suarez's precedent

In 1983, the Dutch legend was extremely angry when Ajax rejected John Cruyff's salary increase request and decided not to renew his contract. He wrote in his autobiography My Turn: "Ajax is still my team, but the management refuses to walk with me. I heard they say I am too old and too fat and continue to gain weight. I have to face all the criticism, and they also ask me to be content with my ordinary salary - which is certainly impossible. "

At the time, 37-year-old Cruyff completed his revenge in the most shocking way: joining his arch-rival Feyenoord and leading the team to win the Eredivisie championship. Luis Suarez also encountered a similar betrayal in 2020 - when Barcelona told him to leave the team, the Uruguayan scorer shed tears on the spot. He eventually joined Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona's management made a fatal mistake: in the terms of the contract, he forgot to include Simeone's team on the "no opponents" list.

Suarez became the key man in Atletico Madrid's victory over Barcelona, ​​scoring 21 goals throughout the season, including the winning goal against Osasuna and Valladolid in the last two rounds. On the day of winning the championship, he bluntly called back at his old club: "That experience was very difficult, I was treated coldly and looked down upon, but Atletico Madrid opened the door for me. "

Not a friendly breakup

Since the news of leaving Manchester City at the end of this season, De Bruyne has always been in a similar mood to Cruyff and Suarez. Considering that the Belgian contract is about to expire, and his hamstring injury was seriously injured in 2023 and was trapped in hernia this season, it is not surprising that he left the team this time.

At first this seemed like a decent farewell: De Bruyne issued a affectionate statement, looking back on the glory of ten years; Guardiola declared that "willing to bet on huge sums" to guarantee that the club would set up a statue for him, but soon the veil of warmth was torn apart.

First, Guardiola revealed that the decision was made by him and sports director Begilistan and directly informed De Bruyne that he must leave the team. The coach bluntly stated that the Belgians had exhausted both physically and mentally due to injuries: "It is not easy to make a decision not to renew the contract. In the past year and a half, he was absent due to injuries because he gave everything to the club and he had dedicated his body and mind. There is no doubt about this. "

Since then, De Bruyne has clearly expressed his dissatisfaction and sadness for the club's decision through many straightforward interviews.

vented dissatisfaction

In his first media appearance after officially releasing his departure (at that time he had just led Manchester City to reverse Crystal Palace 5-2), De Bruyne admitted that he would consider the offer of the Premier League team and firmly believed that he still had the strength of the top league. After the away win over Everton, he further revealed his true feelings: "Obviously, I was a little surprised, but I had to accept reality. To be honest, I still think I can maintain my current level - as I showed. But the club needs to make a decision, and I understand that it is not pleasant from the time I received the notice to the public news. I know I am no longer 25 years old, but I still feel competent for the job. "

He seems to suggest that he has become the scapegoat for Manchester City's worst season in nine years: "If the team is not in trouble and I can fit in as normally as I have recovered from injury this season, maybe I will decide whether Same. But who knows? They told the decision that I had no way to spy on the inside. The details are inconvenient to reveal, because this is more of a business consideration. Apart from the hernia issue, I played far more than last year this season, and I was in good condition and gradually got better. Although I thought I could still contribute a lot, I had to accept reality. "

After scoring the winning goal against Wolves last week, De Bruyne continued to vent his emotions: "Many teammates said that my departure was sad, but this is life. "Jeremy Doku also supported: "This is of course sad, I think he has the ability to stay in the team-he proved this again. "

Return to the top

De Bruyne recently proved his words with his actions. If the Premier League club fails to pursue the freelance superstar, it will be a waste of resources - even if he can only sign for two years. Despite being injured and only ranked 12th in the Premier League, the Belgian still became the second scorer in the team with 4 goals and 7 assists, second only to Haaland.

Guardiola used the injury problem as the main reason, but the players have full confidence to refute: after the hernia that plagued him from September to December, he has returned to his former glory, and Manchester City has won four consecutive victories in recent times (returning to the top five in the Premier League and pointing at Europe He has always been the mainstay. In the match against Crystal Palace, he perfectly interprets his core values: free kicks, assists Kovacic, and repeatedly hits the post + instigation. In the key battle of Likvera, he was named the best in the game; in the stalemate against Wolves, he once again hit the finale.

Health is invincible

Just as after hamstring surgery last season, De Bruyne still led the team to win the championship with a performance of 23 goals in half a season. Now he once again proves that as long as he remains healthy, he is still a world-class midfielder. The potential next player will of course worry about his injury history - the 2023 European Championship The final and season opening matches have been torn hamstrings, coupled with recent hernia problems. But if managed reasonably, he is still a fantasy puzzle for any team that is determined to compete for four or even championships.

With De Bruyne's competitive nature, he will definitely be eager to continue to compete in the Champions League. If used properly, he can still create murderous intentions on the top European stage. Last year, he was worried about overwork in the Club World Cup and bombarded FIFA and UEFA schedules: "They keep adding games" and protested "money is above the health of the players."

After leaving Manchester City, De Bruyne is likely to not participate in the new Club World Cup, which means he will get a precious summer break , accumulating strength for next season and extending my top league career.

My money has been spent long ago

D Bruyne declared "I am a competitive animal" after his god-level performance against Crystal Palace. He should continue to play in the five major European leagues. When choosing the next home, he needs to prioritize projects that can meet competitive ambitions rather than pursuing the last big contract.

When talking about the Saudi invitation last year, he said: "Listen, I will be spent long ago, and if there is a sky-high contract in the future, it is not for me - it is for my family, friends, children, great-grandchildren and even neighbors' children. "

Follow Messi's footsteps to join MLS seems to be able to balance high salary and family needs, but can it really make him happy? Although MLS has made great progress in recent years through the expansion of the new army and joining superstars such as Messi and Suarez, it has never been comparable to the top European leagues. De Bruyne still needs to adapt to long-distance flights - Henry suffered a lot when he played for Red Bull in New York.

It is said that Naples has expressed his enthusiasm with Liverpool Interesting. Going to Serie A can not only compete for the championship, but also feel the most fanatical home atmosphere in Europe (and continue to wear light blue jerseys). Looking at McTominay's success at Maradona Stadium, you can imagine what kind of sensation De Bruyne would cause if he joined.

MLS can wait for

The Premier League is still the world's No. 1 league, and there is still a vast world for De Bruyne. Stay in England, he is expected to surpass Viet Giggs has become the assisting champion of Premier League (currently 43 times away from Manchester United legend). However, the Belgian once said that he did not value personal records. He lived for competition and victory. Now he has a new motivation: prove how stupid it is for Manchester City to give up.

Therefore, Liverpool should not be the only suitor. De Bruyne can help Arsenal take the last step in winning the championship and inject offensive firepower into the invincible defense line; it can help Newcastle rush Attack the elite; it can also help Villa consolidate the upper circle. Even Chelsea - the starting point where he landed in England many years ago - also needed him to activate this talented but lacking directional youth army.

In other words, MLS can wait. De Bruyne still has an unfinished career in the Premier League, and the giants are ushering in a golden opportunity: to grab Manchester City's greatest assets in the past decade and turn their guns to Etihad.