Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has ruled out the prospect of Kevin De Bruyne leaving the club this summer.
The 33-year-old Belgium international said in June that he was “open to everything” amid interest in his services from clubs in Saudi Arabia. He added earlier this month that he was expecting talks with City regarding his future when he returns to the club after a holiday following his participation at the European Championship.
De Bruyne has been a key player for City since his move from Wolfsburg in 2015, helping the club win six Premier League titles in nine seasons and their first-ever Champions League in 2023. He has one year left on his contract at City and The Athletic reported last month that he would be open to a move to MLS either this summer or next.
“Kevin isn’t leaving,” Guardiola said ahead of City’s first pre-season match of the summer against Celtic in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on Wednesday.
De Bruyne missed around five months of last season after suffering a hamstring injury, which required surgery, during City’s opening Premier League game. The attacking midfielder still made 26 appearances, scoring six goals and providing 18 assists.
He endured a disappointing Euro 2024 with Belgium, who lost 1-0 to France in the last 16 — although De Bruyne did score in the group stage victory over Romania.
City have signed Brazil international winger Savinho from Troyes this summer but Guardiola is not expecting many more changes to his first-team squad.
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“If someone leaves, we are going to talk about that and, of course, until the last day (of the transfer window) we have chances,” Guardiola said.
“I don’t rule out new players as an option, but I think there is an 85, 90, 95 per cent chance we will have the same squad.”
The Athletic reported on Tuesday that City No 1 Ederson is keen to move to Saudi Arabia and would join another club, with Al Ittihad on the scene, but the Premier League side expect their asking price of around £50million to be too high.
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