Micah Richards has claimed that Pep Guardiola had words with Kevin De Bruyne over his form following the World Cup.
The 2022/23 Premier League season came to an end on Sunday, with Manchester City securing their third league title in a row and fifth title in six years.
One big factor of this latest campaign was the World Cup in Qatar between November and December, which brought a halt to domestic football across Europe, with many Premier League players taking part.
With the season now over, one pundit and former City player highlighted one current player in Guardiola’s ranks whose form may have been impacted due to his efforts in the World Cup.
Richards highlights De Bruyne’s form
Speaking on a recent edition of 5 Live Sport’s The Monday Night Club, Richards had this to say when discussing how the World Cup may have impacted the form of certain players in the league.
He said: “Kevin De Bruyne, for example, he didn’t have the greatest World Cup.
“I’m not saying he had a falling out with Pep but he had a few words to say about De Bruyne and it took him a while to get going and now he’s in the form of his life.”
Prior to the World Cup, the midfielder had scored three goals and delivered 10 assists across 14 league games. Whereas in the 18 games he featured in following his return from Qatar, the Belgian scored four goals and provided eight assists.
His performances across the campaign ultimately earned the 32-year-old, who City paid £54m for back in 2015, an overall season rating of 7.58/10 from WhoScored, making him the highest-rated player in the division.
Having failed to deliver a goal contribution in any of Belgium’s three World Cup games in their disappointingly brief stint in the tournament, it would have taken significant work from Guardiola to get De Bruyne’s mind back on club business and away from what happened in Qatar.
