Manchester City made a tough call on De Bruyne’s future and only time will reveal if it was the right one | OneFootball

Manchester City fought their way to a 2-nil win over Everton at Goodison Park yesterday. The game wasn’t a free-flowing affair by any stretch but late goals from Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic secured a precious three points for Pep Guardiola’s side. The game itself was short on talking points over the full 90 minutes.

But after the game, Kevin De Bruyne has opened up on his upcoming departure from the club where he has become a legend. De Bruyne revealed that the Manchester City hierarchy decided not to offer him a contract extension. It’s a tough decision from the club and time will tell if it was the correct one.

In quotes relayed by Aadam Patel for the Daily Mail, Kevin De Bruyne has spoken about Manchester City’s decision to let him leave the club at the end of the season. De Bruyne explained that it was a shock to learn he’d be leaving City at the end of the season. He explained: “There was a little bit (of shock). I didn’t have any offer from them through the whole year and the club made a decision. Obviously, I was a bit surprised but I have to accept it. Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level like I’m showing but I understand that clubs have to make decisions.”

De Bruyne also revealed that he believes it was a business decision from the Manchester City hierarchy to not renew his contract. Although he didn’t want to expand on the exact reasons the club had told him about why they were letting him go. He added: “I don’t feel like I want to share (the exact reasons) because it’s basically more business-wise for them and they made a decision based on that. It was not really a long conversation. It was just what they told me and then there’s nothing. I have to accept the situation even though I feel like I can still do a good job but that’s it.”

Letting Kevin De Bruyne leave is a brutal decision from Manchester City and only time will reveal if it’s the right call.

It is a ruthless call from Manchester City to let Kevin De Bruyne leave the club at the end of the season. But we have seen them do similar with Sergio Aguero in recent seasons. It is clear to see that De Bruyne is hurting that his time at Manchester City is coming to an end. The same can be said for the majority of Manchester City’s fans who don’t want to see a club legend leave.

But the decision from City to get De Bruyne’s wages off the books is a smart move. De Bruyne is one of Manchester City’s highest earners and he can’t play at the level he once could. Perhaps a contract on reduced terms may have been an option. But Manchester City decided otherwise. Now they have to utilise the money they have available to pay the player or players who come in to replace the Belgian international. That’s the challenge for the City hierarchy. But they do have the opportunity to move on without De Bruyne as they continue City’s rebuild this summer. That’s the cold reality of the situation at hand currently.

Hearing Kevin De Bruyne speak on Manchester City’s decision to let him go at the end of the season was sad. It will be a sad occasion when he does finally play his final game at the club. But only time will tell if it’s the right decision by the City hierarchy. But nothing lasts forever and perhaps when the emotion settles City did make the right move in not offering De Bruyne a new contract. If nothing else it’s a brutal move from the world champions ahead of their impending rebuild that will continue this summer.