Kevin De Bruyne ‘Makes Decision’ on MLS Transfer, Talks Imminent | OneFootball

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has decided against moving to MLS, multiple reports state, and will instead fly to Italy next week to negotiate a contract with new Serie A champions Napoli.

The 33-year-old’s tenure at Etihad Stadium will end after City’s final game of the 2024–25 Premier League season against Fulham, in which they hope to secure safe passage back into next season’s Champions League with a win.

De Bruyne has admitted that City decided against offering him a new contract, rather than him looking for pastures new, and his continued status at the top of the game, despite injury problems, has been underlined by extensive links to other top tier clubs.

A move to MLS has always looked most likely for De Bruyne, with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami initially holding the Belgian’s Discovery Rights, before the attacking midfielder was extensively linked to both San Diego and Chicago Fire.

But reports from ESPN and The Times confirm that De Bruyne has opted against moving stateside, and will instead look to pursue a move to Antonio Conte’s Napoli, who have just lifted the Serie A title after narrowly seeing off the challenge of Champions League finalists Inter.

The latter’s report suggests a two-year contract awaits De Bruyne in Naples, whereas Fabrizio Romano claims a lucrative three-year deal worth €27 million ($30.6 million, £22.6 million) is waiting to be signed, inclusive of a signing fee.

De Bruyne told reporters in the aftermath of City’s FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace that he was yet to decide his next move, stressing that he had to consider his family and young children in addition to his professional needs, but could now link up with international teammate Romelu Lukaku.

32-year-old Lukaku scored the second goal of Napoli’s title-sealing 2–0 win over Cagliari, after former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay had opened the scoring with an acrobatic scissor-kick, and like De Bruyne now has an impressive career résumé.

De Bruyne’s City career yielded six Premier League titles, multiple domestic cups, the Champions League in 2023 and, at the time of writing, 285 goal contributions—108 goals and 177 assists— from 421 appearances.