De Bruyne: I Have Delayed New Contract Talks with City

Kevin De Bruyne has revealed that he has set aside discussions about his future with Manchester City to focus on recovering from injury.

According to The Athletic, De Bruyne’s contract expires next summer. While he had planned to discuss his options with the club in recent weeks, he has not started a match since the Champions League game against Inter in September.

When asked about a new contract, De Bruyne said:

“Honestly, I don’t know. I was aware that talks were supposed to happen, but unfortunately, I got injured during the Brentford match and had to put everything aside. I thought I would be out for two or three days, but it ended up being eight or nine weeks. For now, I just want to recover fully and see how I feel.”

De Bruyne added:

“The rest will follow. I’m not overly worried about it, and there’s not much to say. I’m fine, I’m happy. I just want to play good football again, and we’ll see what the future holds. I already had a conversation in the summer, but the injury left me in no mental state to discuss it. Right now, I want to get back to where I need to be on the pitch and feel like myself again. There’s no rush, and I’m comfortable with my situation. I just want to play football, and I’m not really concerned.”

The 33-year-old player disclosed that the injury sustained against Brentford on September 14 was initially expected to sideline him for a couple of days. However, he ended up unable to put any power into his shots.

He explained:

“Every time I kicked the ball, it was extremely painful. I tried different ways to regain my strength, but it took a long time to recover. It wasn’t until Friday that I finally started to feel better. I can’t explain it; I don’t know why, but I’ve improved significantly over the past few days.”

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s manager who recently extended his contract with the club, emphasized De Bruyne’s importance but said the decision about his future should be in the best interest of both the player and the team.

Guardiola commented:

“I don’t know. It’s up to Kevin—whether it’s at the end of this season, the next, or the one after. Like David Silva, he will decide when it’s best for him and the team. He wouldn’t want to be in a position where he can’t play every three days. When he’s available, he must play.”

Manchester City resumes their campaign with a Champions League clash against Feyenoord on Tuesday.