Kevin De Bruyne has admitted he is open to moving away from Manchester City to finish his career and said he is tempted by the incredible wealth on offer in Saudi Arabia.
The Belgium international, who turns 33 this month, has a year left on his contract at City and Telegraph Sport revealed last month that Saudi Pro League clubs are willing to wait to land one of the Premier League’s biggest stars on a Bosman free transfer.
However, Saudi clubs could press ahead with a move earlier than planned following comments made by De Bruyne to broadcasters VTM in Belgium.
De Bruyne opened the door to playing in the Middle East following his glittering career at the Etihad Stadium, where he has won six titles and the Champions League in his nine years at the club.
“At my age you have to be open to everything. You’re talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that,” De Bruyne said, when asked about a potential move to Saudi Arabia.
“If I play there for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money. Before that I had to play football for 15 years. I may not even reach that amount yet. Then you have to think about what that could mean next. But at the moment I haven’t had to think about that yet.”
The Saudi Pro League’s chief football executive, Michael Emenalo, has told Telegraph Sport his ambition is to create an “absolute top product” where the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe want to play.
Emenalo added that Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, as well as De Bruyne, are the “types of players” that the SPL will try to sign, following a spending spree of £767 million signing 94 overseas players last summer.
Pep Guardiola has previously spoken of how he would not stand in the way of a player if he requested to leave the club, saying: “From my point of view, I have said this to the club many times. I give my opinion to the club and they decide if the transfer suits for both sides and the player.
“Why? I think that means you are a small club (if you block a transfer). Big clubs, they don’t care. They make decisions for the benefit of all three parties: players and both clubs – and the agents sometimes. So really it is not a problem.“
De Bruyne moved to City in 2015 from Wolfsburg and since returning to England, having been at Chelsea, he and wife Michèle have had three children.
The midfielder said he has discussed ‘an exotic adventure’ with his wife and how it would impact their family if he did move.
“For Michèle, an exotic adventure is okay,” De Bruyne added. “These are also conversations that we are increasingly having as a family. I still have one year left on my contract, so I have to think about what could happen. My eldest is now eight years old and knows nothing but England. He also asks how long I will play for City. Once the moment comes, we will have to deal with it in a certain way.”
Source Agencies
