Liverpool fans received another healthy dollop of schadenfreude on Sunday as they watched Crystal Palace beat Man City to lift the FA Cup.
City have had a disappointing season by their own lofty standards, but it had felt inevitable that they would still manage to end it with a major trophy.
That they were beaten by a Palace side winning their first ever piece of silverware will have brought a smile to many a Liverpool fan’s face.
The final was also notable for being the last in which Kevin De Bruyne will feature for Man City. The great Belgian will bow out with 18 trophies to his name.
Where he goes next is still anyone’s guess. Liverpool have been linked with De Bruyne after the 33-year-old recently hinted that he’d actually quite like to stay in the Premier League, thank you very much.
And after De Bruyne made an even less subtle hint that this could be the direction of travel after Sunday’s final, journalist Fabrizio Romano has weighed in to reveal what he’s hearing about the City legend and Liverpool.
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Kevin De Bruyne drops Premier League hint
De Bruyne joining Liverpool would make a lot of sense given the circumstances. The Reds are looking for a creative player to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and who better than City’s No. 17?
And as De Bruyne told Sky Sports in the mixed zone at Wembley on Sunday, he really has to think about his family when he makes his decision. He is clearly not keen on moving too far away.
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Kevin De Bruyne discusses his future plans and says "maybe" when asked if he could move to another team in the Premier League 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/a0lR8noa1K
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“I want to play good football, whatever the decision will be,” De Bruyne said when asked if he wants to stay in the Premier League. “I know you’re trying to guess where I’m going to go. I will make my decision and you guys will know when I know.
“I don’t know, it depends who comes. Like I said to my Belgian colleagues, I have a family, I have young kids, I have to take care to make a decision that suits all of us, not just me.”
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After confirming that he has already had talks with interested clubs, De Bruyne was pushed on whether any of those conversations involved English clubs.
“Maybe,” he replied after a brief pause and a slightly mischievous smile.
No Liverpool talks for De Bruyne
Given how much of a point De Bruyne has been making about his family’s role in his decision, Liverpool fans have got it into their heads that he could be moving to Merseyside.
Joining the Reds would mean he would not even have to move house, keeping his family exactly where they are.
Yet, anticipating these links while speaking to his YouTube channel on Saturday evening, transfer expert Romano claimed that Liverpool will not be in the mix for De Bruyne as things stand.
“De Bruyne has an important proposal on the table from Chicago Fire in terms of money,” he says. “Also, we know how Napoli are interested. No contacts with Liverpool. Liverpool are not in the mix for De Bruyne from what we’ve been told. Let’s see what happens there.
“My understanding is that from next week the conversation for De Bruyne will become concrete.”