Pep Guardiola was left scratching his head after Real Madrid ripped his Manchester City side apart in the Champions League.
Manchester City were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
Pep Guardiola now has a serious task on his hands, if he is to lift his players in time for the Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday.
Kylian Mbappe absolutely humiliated the Manchester City players, quite literally concerning Josko Gvardiol.
It was a long and incredibly hard night out in the Spanish capital for Man City.
The players really let down the fans and their manager against Madrid.
However, once again, Pep wasn’t blameless at all.
His team selection and bizarre tactics against Los Blancos raised some eyebrows in Spain and back in Manchester.
Pep’s use of Omar Marmoush as the designated set-piece taker was a mind-boggling one really.
However, another one of his decisions last night in particular surely means that one of City’s greatest ever players is finished under the Spaniard.
Kevin De Bruyne is finished at Manchester City
At the start of the season, nobody would have predicted just how sharply Kevin De Bruyne was about to decline.
Man City signed De Bruyne from Wolfsburg for around £50 million in the summer of 2015 (The Mirror).
He has been sensational for City over the past nine years, but his form has fallen off the edge of a cliff this season.
Is the 33-year-old yesterday’s man? It certainly seems that way.
It has actually already been claimed that Pep is looking into potential replacements for De Bruyne.
He was named on City’s bench for the huge Champions League showdown with Read Madrid on Wednesday night.
And to add insult to injury, he remained there for the entire game, despite the meltdown from the players out on the pitch, and with City in desperate need of a goal.
That snub from Guardiola says it all doesn’t it. De Bruyne has clearly regressed badly this season, and perhaps Pep just doesn’t see how the former Chelsea and Wolfsburg man fits into his team anymore.
The attacking midfielder’s goal and assist contributions have significantly shrunk this season.
He has just three goals and six assists to his name in 26 games for Man City so far this term (Transfermarkt).
| Season | Appearances | Goals | Assists | Total |
| 2015/16 | 41 | 16 | 13 | 29 |
| 2016/17 | 49 | 7 | 20 | 27 |
| 2017/18 | 52 | 12 | 21 | 33 |
| 2018/19 | 32 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| 2019/20 | 48 | 16 | 22 | 38 |
| 2020/21 | 40 | 10 | 18 | 28 |
| 2021/22 | 45 | 19 | 15 | 34 |
| 2022/23 | 49 | 10 | 29 | 39 |
| 2023/24 | 26 | 6 | 18 | 24 |
| 2024/25 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Even in De Bruyne’s worst season for Man City back in 2019, he racked up eight more goal involvements than he has done this term.
Kevin De Bruyne to be sacrificed for new-look Manchester City
The Belgian will probably end up playing out in Saudi Arabia next season, or he will join one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
The speed and intensity of Premier League football is probably too much for him now, especially given his checkered past with injuries.
The 33-year-old has been an outstanding servant for Man City, and there’s no debating the fact that he will go down as a club legend.
However, there is no room for sentiment at elite level sport.
Kevin De Bruyne will be out of contract with Manchester City in just a few month’s time.
And it’s fair to say that after the snub from Pep Guardiola against Madrid on Wednesday night, the Belgian has absolutely no future at The Etihad.
The time has come for one of the greatest play-makers the Premier League has ever seen and Manchester City to go their separate ways.
