Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is out of contract at the end of the season
Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is out of contract at the end of the season
Manchester City's Club World Cup rivals River Plate, from Argentina, have been ambitiously instructed by former player Carlos Morete to sign Kevin de Bruyne before the tournament begins and have been told, 'He'll make you a champion'.
The Belgian international, 33, is due to leave Man City with club legend status this summer as that is when his contract is due to expire. However, participation in the revamped Club World Cup tournament has prompted confusion around players with deals expiring as when they do, on June 30, the date falls midway between the June 14 start date and July 13 end date.
FIFA have granted special dispensation to participants to agree short-term deals with the likes of De Bruyne so that they are able to feature for the whole tournament rather than half.
However, they have also ratified an early transfer window between June 1 and June 10 before the Club World Cup starts to make signings if participating clubs are able.
"River has a manager and brains. Maybe they called and I don't know or it wasn't made public. Why didn't anyone take a plane to Manchester and go find out about De Bruyne?"
That was the query made by 73-year-old ex-forward Morete about former club River Plate speaking on Argentine radio station River Monumental. Initially, this claim was laughed off by his hosts.
But fully serious on the matter, he added: "He's 33 years old. You pay him $20m (£15m), he's free, and you see if you bring him in or not.
"He'll make you a champion, make you fight for championships, and solve all your problems. Go check out his physical condition. He's a real star and he's not that old. Make him an offer. He leaves City for free, pay him €20m per year and bring him in.
"If you buy a player for $14m like the Colombian [Kevin Castano] or $12m for Sebastian Driussi, you've made a mess of millions of dollars. Here you don't pay a penny for his transfer and you bring in a star. Everything River brought in doesn't solve anything."
It is certainly an enterprising plot and one that adds to previous suggestions that MLS and Saudi Pro League clubs are building up towards De Bruyne's contract expiry in Manchester this summer.
Speaking in February, Pep Guardola stated only De Bruyne could resolve his City future, saying: "Nothing is going to change about that. Of course we know each other quite well and we are quite honest with that.
"I think in that situation he has to decide, that is the most important thing. He's completely honest with himself, to decide what he feels and what he can do in the next period of his life. He's 34 in the summer and he has to decide, like what happened with David Silva for example."
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Manchester City wrapped up the 2023/24 season with a fourth successive Premier League title, but they missed out on another Treble with defeat in the FA Cup final and Champions League quarter-finals. It's now time for Pep Guardiola and co to turn their attention to the transfer window.
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