Manchester City rarely make mistakes when it comes to recruitment and releasing players at the right time.
Legendary figures such as Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero have all left the Etihad Stadium while Pep Guardiola has held the reins, but yet, Manchester City have remained competitive, signing the likes of Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Rodri and Erling Haaland as replacements.
As Premier League rivals in Manchester United and Chelsea often flounder when it comes to making decisions on players, Txiki Begiristain can be proud of his judgement as Director of Football.
Now – however – Manchester City could be about to strengthen Liverpool significantly after a rumour about Kevin De Bruyne emerged.
Kevin De Bruyne to Liverpool could spell disaster for Manchester City
Gianluca Di Marzio is now claiming that Liverpool have made an offer to De Bruyne after Manchester City decided not to keep the Belgian, who sees his contract expire in June.
Should this move actually materialise, we can envisage it coming back to bite Guardiola, in a similar way to when Luis Suarez returned to haunt Barcelona with Atletico Madrid in 2021.
Barcelona allowed the Uruguayan to join a direct rival in Atletico Madrid for just £5.5m back in September 2020, with the Spanish giants feeling the South American was finished at the highest level aged 33.
However, Suarez emphatically proved Barcelona wrong the next season, scoring 21 goals across 32 appearances in La Liga to secure the title for Atletico Madrid, who finished seven points above the Catalans.
The man from Salto even admitted that being rejected by Barcelona motivated him to shine, saying: “I don’t live in the past and I don’t hold grudges, but I had a very bad time when I left Barcelona. I felt I still had what it takes to play for Barca. I was the top scorer after Messi. I didn’t score less than 20 – 25 goals a season.
“Then Atletico Madrid came along and opened the doors for me. That motivated me. My mission was to show Barcelona that they had made a mistake and to pay Atletico for the confidence they had in me, and we won La Liga. I give a lot of value to that title.”
Luis Suarez comments are eerily similar to what Kevin De Bruyne is saying now
Like Suarez did, De Bruyne insists he remains capable of playing at this level.
The Belgium international – who is also 33, the age Barcelona decided Suarez was done – recently said: “I have shown I can still play here, otherwise I don’t do what I do these last four or five weeks.
“A lot of teammates have spoken to me, they are sad also that I have to go. It goes like this in life, but the way I am performing is the way I should be.”
Therefore, if Manchester City send De Bruyne packing to Liverpool – who are already a strong side having just won the Premier League – it could be a decision they regret.
