After Kevin De Bruyne rolled back the years with a match-winning performance to see Man City past Wolves on Friday Night Football, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards had different viewpoints on whether the Belgian should have been kept on at the Etihad for another year.
Last month, De Bruyne announced he would be leaving the club where he won six Premier League titles in a decade, before later revealing he was “surprised” he had not been offered an extension to his current deal, which expires at the end of June.
The 33-year-old had added he felt he could still perform at “the highest level” and showed some evidence of that in his performance against Wolves, producing City’s most successful final-third passes and pressures ending in a turnover in addition to the only goal of the game.
Sky Sports News understands Aston Villa have held internal talks over a potential free transfer move for the veteran midfielder.
Former Man City defender Richards said he could understand De Bruyne’s frustrations at being let go, despite his age and declining fitness which have restricted him to just 17 starts this season.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Highlights from the Premier League as Manchester City beat Wolves 1-0 to edge closer to Champions League qualification.
He said: “Maybe he doesn’t have the press that Man City want to put in, but quality-wise, he believes he can still play at the top level. I believe him.
“Speaking to a lot of City fans, they think it’s nice he’s going this season so he can leave on a high. A couple of weeks ago he said he feels injury-free for the first time, where he feels a bit more mobile and flexible.
“Ages catches up on you, he’s 33 years old, and your body can’t do certain things you want it to. But you look at Man City’s possession stats, he keeps the ball really well and scores a vital goal. His football intelligence is still there.
“Maybe he’s saying to the manager he’s still good enough to play at this level.”
Jamie Carragher told Friday Night Football he was more inclined to side with Manchester City’s decision to let the midfielder go.
De Bruyne also made only 15 starts in the Premier League for the club last year, and missed 13 games in 2020/21. In total, he has featured in 257 of the 339 league matches under Pep Guardiola.
Carragher said he felt that made De Bruyne’s significant wages difficult to justify, as a player of his standing and quality would command more than the club would be willing to pay for his potentially limited appearances.
“I can understand where the club are coming from. I think it’s slightly different to what happened with Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk because they play every week,” he said.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kevin De Bruyne gave an update on his future after his match-winning performance against Wolves, while Jamie Carragher said he sympathised with Man City’s decision to let him go.
“I think he’s one of the highest-paid players in probably world football, and rightly so. He’s been injured a lot in the last two years, so it’s hard to justify for Manchester City from a business point of view, to give him a new contract.
“When you’ve got a club like this, and we know with PSR and all different things that go on, you couldn’t afford to have someone on those types of wages not playing every week, that should be for one of your star players.
“Now, he’s still a star player, but he’s not going to play every week, he’s probably going to play 20 to 25 games a season.
“Something Gary Neville mentioned, when you think of the Manchester United lads, all got to that certain age, Gary being one of them, maybe Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, where they stay on there and they pass on their experience, they dip in and out of games.
“I’m sure they were getting paid very well, but the numbers we’re talking now with Kevin De Bruyne, it’s probably one of the highest paid players in the world, he doesn’t play every weekend, and Manchester City as a business probably just can’t justify that.”
De Bruyne: I don’t know what future holds
The man himself told Sky Sports he was none the wiser over his future despite playing what will likely be his penultimate home game for Man City on Friday night.
But after a third goal contribution in four games, De Bruyne reiterated his own belief that he has what it takes to continue playing for a club at the same level.
“I’m just trying to play as good as I can,” he said. “I know I’ve got one game left [at the Etihad], but I just try to do my job like I’ve always done.
“I’m proud of what I’m doing and that’s how it’s always been.
“A lot of team-mates have spoken to me, they’re sad that I’m leaving but sometimes that’s how it goes in life. The way I’m performing and acting, is how everyone should be.
“I don’t know [what the future holds], unfortunately. I’ve shown I can still play here or I wouldn’t have done what I’ve done in the last four or five weeks. That’s it from my point of view.”