by Kevin de Bruyne had a way to shake the disappointment. Saturday could have ended the FA Cup as the captain of Manchester City, a last trophy that was reinforced into a huge collection. “Yes, okay. I could have won 20, I have 19,” he said. “It is okay, that does not change that has happened in the past 10 years. Of course I want to win, but I also wanted to win last year. There are things that happen and it was amazing, so what can I say? It was mostly really good moments, so that is life.”
This phlegmatic approach extended in the way of his departure. City has not offered its biggest player to its biggest player, even if the last few weeks have shown that he will remain an astonishingly good passer -by of the ball, even if the honors of Pep Guardiola and his teammates and even before the defeat on Saturday against Crystal Palace flew from the Prince of Wales. “The decision is what it is,” reflected De Bruyne. “Obviously it wasn’t nice at the moment, but I accept it and I go on. It’s not the end of life.”
But it is the end of life in the city. After a decade, he is in force last week. After 420 games there are only two more. In theory, de Bruyne could bow to the Club World Championship, even if his contract goes through a part. No decision was officially made. And yet it seems less and less likely that De Bruyne will be exposed to Wydad AC in Philadelphia on June 18 or Al Ain in Atlanta or Juventus in Orlando. Not if it endangered its future. “It makes no sense, but I think that happens if you use new tournaments in the middle of this contractual situation. In a way, I have to take care of myself, because if I am injured in the Club World Championship, what should I do?
A heterosexual speaker identified some of the mistakes in the FIFA idea of ​​depositing a club tournament in this time of the year. “It makes no sense, but I’m just one player. I don’t do the rules, I can’t do anything about it,” he said.
And that’s it. The Bruynes last game could be in Fulham on Sunday. His farewell to Etihad would always be against Bournemouth on Tuesday. “I don’t know how I will feel,” he said. “It will be strange. I will try to enjoy it.”
And then? He looks into the unknown. The city’s decision to do without the playmaker Supreme has not been unnoticed. De Bruyne is still admirers. “There are actually options, but we’ll see,” he said. There are very different alternatives. Chicago Fire is one, another. De Bruyne has started his research. “Information about all things was sought,” he said.
They extend beyond tactics and training grounds. When he was injured last season, he returned to remember that he spent part of his time to do the school run. He always had an ordinary figure with an extraordinary talent, the down -to -earth man who brought the city to new heights.
One reason why he had hoped to stay in the city was simply that he settled; And not only he. “Everything has to collapse for my family and for myself,” he said. “If you are 20 years old and make a decision, it is easy. You can move to another country and it is not a problem. But I want to make the best decision. What for my children, for my wife, my school, life, all the things you need and I have to think about my family.
To see de Bruyne in Wembley, maybe for the last time, was an illustration that can belong to such a stage. Certainly he seems to be an attempt to stay in the Premier League and play at a high level. “Yes, probably,” he said. “But it depends on all of these factors.”
He is a family man with greater concerns than simply prestige. “I’m not interested in the status,” he said. “I want to be happy and play good football. Status? What does that mean? Because that comes and works. I just want to enjoy in the future and still play some football in the future, and the status can come whenever I am finished and I can enjoy my life.”
De Bruyne is not yet finished. But the football he will play in the future is unlikely that she will be in the Club World Cup. It will not be in a city shirt over this week. And for the man who has always chosen the right passport, an overall major decision is waiting.
