MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City interacts with manager Pep Guardiola after being substituted during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Etihad Stadium on December 04, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Sergio Aguero didn't get it. Ilkay Gundogan didn't get it. Joe Hart definitely didn't get it.
But Kevin De Bruyne will get all the time and space to take control of his Manchester City future, an honour befitting his status as one of the best to pull on the sky blue shirt.
De Bruyne emphatically shut down the irresponsible talk of a rift with Pep Guardiola with a straight-to-the-point denial and a performance that rolled back the years on Wednesday night to potentially kickstart City's season. More games like that, and attention will focus on those contract talks as De Bruyne enters the final six months of his current deal.
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City often put head before heart when it comes to their greats and their futures. Of those examples above, Aguero hadn't been fit for two seasons so wasn't offered an extension despite being the club's all-time record goalscorer, Gundogan was only offered a one year deal when he wanted two, and Guardiola made it very clear very quickly that Hart wasn't in his plans.
Extend that further, and both David Silva and Fernandinho returned to their home countries when it made sense for all parties that they left the Etihad on a high.
Guardiola often lists players like that as vital in City's journey, but there comes a time where players become too old and must be replaced. For all of De Bruyne's undoubted quality, he was unavailable for five months last season and already for five weeks this term.
The 33-year-old accepts that in order to be in the best negotiating position for a new deal, he must be fit, so intentionally put talks aside while he was on the sidelines. He spoke in the summer of the lure of a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia and later added that the 'project' must be right for him and his family.
Only last week, he insisted there is no rush for talks and the calmest man in Belgium remains calm. "I had a conversation already in the summer but then I had the injury so I was not in the right frame of mind to speak about that," he said.
"I really want to be good and be back on the pitch and be myself again and there is no rush. I don’t feel uncomfortable in my situation, I just want to play football."
If De Bruyne can prove his fitness between now and June (or July), both he and City will be in a better place to get around the negotiating table and make a sensible decision.
And in a new development, the Telegraph report that City are considering offering De Bruyne a move to a fellow City Football Group whenever he decides to leave the Etihad.
Remember that 'project' De Bruyne was looking for? Could keeping him within the CFG with a hypothetical view to coaching or another role tempt him?
Such a move could be the first move in a complex, respectful game of chess. Guardiola has long said he would 'love' for De Bruyne to stay and end his career at the Etihad, but insists that the Belgian has earned the right to decide how the final years of his playing career look like.
But what it would show is that City will treat De Bruyne's future differently to other club legends. And they'll do whatever they can to keep him close - in any capacity.