Board member at Manchester City forced to make Kevin De Bruyne phone call over grievances | OneFootball

One official within Manchester City felt it necessary to make a personal phone call to Kevin De Bruyne regarding the club’s decision to let him go this summer.

It was confirmed earlier this year that amid a planned overhaul of Pep Guardiola’s playing squad, Manchester City would be parting ways with De Bruyne following the expiry of his contract which runs until June.

Manchester City bosses have now been left with the tough task of trying to replace arguably their greatest-ever player, and have already withdrawn interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz amid concerns over the finances involved.

From the side of the 33-year-old, it is widely believed that he had originally struggled to come to terms with the decision made by the likes of Txiki Begiristain, Pep Guardiola, and Ferran Soriano, firmly believing that he could still perform at the very highest level of the game.

And now, it has been revealed that such difficulties in accepting the news forced one official within the Manchester City boardroom to hold a personal phone call with the midfielder to address such problems.

That is according to the information of MailSport’s Jack Gaughan, who reveals that De Bruyne could not easily accept news of his City departure when it was initially put to him by the club in late March, having been under the impression that his future was his to decide.

However, it is revealed that in the weeks since, the 33-year-old has ‘started to engage with the club’s ideas for the final goodbye’, although one unnamed board member within the Etihad Stadium had to make a phone call to talk through the Belgian’s ‘grievances’.

The report also quotes sources who say that the absence of De Bruyne’s wife, Michele, at the FA Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest was ‘noticeable’ given the fact that the family never usually miss a Manchester City game.

Thankfully for all involved, it is stressed that the midfielder himself is now ‘making peace with the decision’ while fielding interest from across Europe and beyond, with separate reports pointing towards Napoli as an interested party.

De Bruyne had a final opportunity to bid farewell to the Etihad on Tuesday night following City’s 3-1 win over Bournemouth, before being interviewed on the pitch, handed gifts, and greeted by a video montage of messages from past and present teammates and football icons.

Speaking on the presentation and his farewell moment with club media afterwards, De Bruyne said, “It was amazing. I think I’ve seen a full stadium, everybody staying to say goodbye, so that says it all about the appreciation the fans have for me.

“I don’t really know how to explain the emotions, but it was absolutely wonderful. It will probably take some time to sink in.”

There does however remain one final piece of work to fulfil for Kevin De Bruyne and his City teammates, as they require a minimum of one point against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon to guarantee a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

“We want to be in the Champions League next year, the team deserves that,” the veteran creator said of the final clash of the 2024/25 season.

He added, “But Fulham is also not going to give it to us, so we need to have a rest these couple of days, get ready, and then perform for the last time on Sunday, and hopefully have a good end result.”