Manchester City and Liverpool do not share a historical rivalry but over the years, a degree of enmity has developed between the two clubs.
Pep Guardiola expressed his admiration for Jurgen Klopp but at the end of the day, both clubs were fierce rivals to win the Premier League title over the years.
If not for Guardiola’s genius in turning Manchester City into a winning machine, Klopp would have dominated English football, a reality that will always sting the Anfield faithful.
While Arne Slot rates this Manchester City side highly, he has now usurped the Catalan boss as the division’s standout manager for now after winning the title.
Kevin De Bruyne held talks to sign for Liverpool before Napoli move
As a result, perhaps Liverpool felt they could land a sizable blow to City by making a move for Kevin De Bruyne after they decided to let him go in the summer.
Liverpool were keen on signing De Bruyne in what would have been one of the most controversial moves in Premier League history but ultimately, the midfield maestro chose to become a Napoli player.
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The Athletic have reported that as Manchester City legend spent a month last season deciding whether to move to Naples or Chicago Fire, he even held a “short conversation” with Liverpool.
Juventus made a casual enquiry to sign the six-time Premier League winner as well as Galatasaray while Inter Miami’s designated player (DP) slots were taken up by some of their existing superstars despite their interest.
Despite the conversation between De Bruyne and Liverpool, the report mentions that there are “conflicting accounts” regarding which out of the two parties initiated talks.
After Manchester City did not renew De Bruyne’s contract after the 33-year-old was initially given the impression that the ball was in his court, the relationship between the player and the club became “frosty.”
Whether Liverpool made an offer to sign De Bruyne
Bernardo Silva raved about De Bruyne by claiming that he is “the best player in the history of the club” and the fans would have been distraught had he decided to join Liverpool.
Considering Arne Slot spoke to Rayan Cherki and eventually signed Florian Wirtz, it would have been likely that the former Wolfsburg attacker would have had to accept being a squad player.
Journalist James Pearce revealed Liverpool never made an offer to sign De Bruyne, which shows that a move was never really on the verge of coming to fruition.
The report mentioned that the decorated creator was also convinced about Napoli being his destination of choice due to speaking to fellow Belgians, Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens.
Furthermore, Antonio Conte’s decision to stay put at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium gave the Premier League icon further encouragement to make the move to Italy; however, if the former Chelsea boss had left, that could have impacted the player’s decision to say yes to the transfer.