Kevin De Bruyne’s time at Manchester City is coming to an end.
The Belgian superstar has been with the Premier League champions for the last 10 years, winning everything at the Etihad Stadium, and is looking to add to that over the coming months by winning the FA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
Kevin De Bruyne’s performance against Crystal Palace showed how committed he is to this cause, despite the Man City star already showing interest in a move to Chicago Fire.
There was a possibility of the 33-year-old staying in Manchester beyond this season but De Bruyne recently stated that Man City never offered him a new deal.
This may have shocked some fans of the Manchester club, but Jamie Carragher has now stated that he understands why Man City took this route with the veteran star.
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Jamie Carragher understands why Kevin De Bruyne was not offered a new contract
Heading into the summer transfer window, the contract situations of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah at Liverpool were dominating news headlines, in addition to De Bruyne’s situation at Man City.
The Merseyside club tied down the duo for another two years recently and that has left many City fans wondering why the same was not done for De Bruyne.
Speaking on the latest episode of Stick To Football, Jamie Carragher has explained why the situations are different and in fact, the Sky Sports pundit agrees with the Manchester club’s way of thinking.
“From City’s point of view, when you talk about Salah and Van Dijk now, a similar sort of age, they play every week,” Carragher said. “When you’re paying them big money, you know you’re getting 40,50 games a season.
“Unfortunately, with Kevin De Bruyne the last couple of years. Listen, he’s one of my favourites. I absolutely adore him, but I can understand the club thinking four hundred grand a week for a player who is playing half the games.”
It is noticeable how much De Bruyne’s productivity has dropped off this season compared to recent campaigns due to the fitness issues he has had, which would have been a key element in City’s decision not to offer the midfielder a new deal.
Kevin De Bruyne’s injury history at Man City
The last two seasons have seen De Bruyne deal with some serious injuries, although the current campaign has not been the worst for the Belgian having featured in 35 games.
The 2023/24 season highlighted De Bruyne’s recent struggles with his fitness as the midfielder only played in 26 matches having had numerous setbacks, which will only increase as the player gets older.
| Injury | Games missed |
| Hamstring injury (24/25) | 12 |
| Stomach issue (23/24) | 1 |
| Groin strain (23/24) | 2 |
| Fitness issue (23/24) | 3 |
| Hamstring injury (23/24) | 30 |
| Foot bruise (22/23) | 3 |
De Bruyne is arguably the greatest player to ever play for Manchester City, but all good things must come to an end.
It would have been a hard decision for the Manchester club to let the Belgian superstar go but it is the right one, especially if Man City sign Florian Wirtz as the midfielder’s replacement.
