Kevin De Bruyne held talks with one of Manchester City’s bitterest Premier League rivals before joining Napoli on a free, a bombshell report has claimed.
The Belgian was confirmed as a Napoli star and hailed as ‘King Kev’ earlier this month as City showed him the door following a decade of impeccable service.
De Bruyne, who also considered the prospect of joining Chicago Fire, seemed wistful to be leaving the Etihad but is determined to make a point.
The Athletic reports that the 33-year-old opted for Napoli partly so he could prove City wrong for letting him go by showing he can compete at the top level.
Napoli recently lifted their second Serie A title in three seasons and Antonio Conte’s side could face City in the Champions League this coming season.
However, De Bruyne also had a ‘brief conversation’ with Liverpool in a revelation that will shock many fans.
He was actually a Reds supporter growing up. While in the academy at Genk, he revealed: ‘My favourite club is Liverpool and my favourite player is Michael Owen, and I would love to play there one day.’
In 2019, he told the Match of the Day magazine: ‘I was a Liverpool fan. My family that live in England were all Liverpool supporters so I was, too.
‘I loved Michael Owen because I was really small like him and quick, too. I compared myself to him at the time. I liked [Zinedine] Zidane and Ronaldinho too – those really skilful players.’
Even considering this, it would have been a jaw-dropping move had De Bruyne actually joined his side’s recent rivals.
Liverpool and City have shared the last eight Premier League titles (two vs six), and the one to miss out has been runner-up in three of those seasons.
The last players to switch between the two clubs were James Milner and Raheem Sterling in 2015-16, with the former joining Liverpool and the latter going to City.
More to follow.
