De Bruyne: Belgium Return Rumours | Football24

When an icon like Kevin De Bruyne leaves the Premier League behind after almost ten years, that does not go unnoticed. The playmaker who experienced Manchester City great opted for a new adventure in Italy. The switch to SSC Napoli not only means a sporting challenge, but also a clear message about his plans for the future.

By FVH

For De Bruyne, a contract extension at City seemed self -evident for years. Six national titles, a Champions League and countless individual prizes made him one of the figureheads of the Guardiola era. Nevertheless, the club decided not to extend its expiring commitment this summer. Napoli smelled his chance and captured the 34-year-old Red Devil for at least two seasons.

The reception in Naples was warm and his first games show that he can still go with the highest level. With his Vista and Leadership, he has to guide the southern Italians again towards success.

Open future, but not Belgium

What follows after Napoli is to watch coffee grounds. In his contract there is an option for a third season, which means that he may remain active in the Serie A. until he was 37, after that, a point behind the career is becoming increasingly likely.

However, the fact that he returns to the Jupiler Pro League seems to be excluded. Father Herwig De Bruyne emphasized in There That his son is not interested in a farewell tour on Belgian fields. “People sometimes ask him:” Come back to Belgium. ” He is not interested in Kevin, he would rather put it out.

A career in motion

The choice for Napoli is at the same time a return to the feeling of the past: again the pawn that a team can control. From his breakthrough at KRC Genk, via Chelsea and his heyday in Germany to his glory time at City: De Bruyne always chose the way of the sporting challenge above convenience.

Even now, at the age of 34, it doesn’t seem different. While Belgian clubs may dream of a romantic return, De Bruyne himself gives the signal that he would rather stop at the highest level than to bulge in his own country. For the time being, the Serie A is the backdrop where he writes his last chapters.