Kevin De Bruyne has two Premier League games left as a Manchester City player before leaving the club this summer.
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De Bruyne after the FA Cup final defeat
De Bruyne after the FA Cup final defeat
Kevin De Bruyne admits he is unlikely to play for Manchester City in the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, confirming that the club have still not moved to ask whether he wants to represent them in the USA.
City have told De Bruyne that he will be departing the Etihad this summer after they decided not to renew his contract. He was serenaded at Wembley in Saturday's FA Cup final defeat and will be given a hero's farewell in his last Etihad Stadium appearance on Tuesday against Bournemouth.
De Bruyne's contract expires at the end of June, midway through the Club World Cup, which runs until mid-July. FIFA have changed transfer and contract rules to allow clubs to offer temporary extensions, however De Bruyne has previously admitted that he is unsure whether he will choose to represent City in the competition at all.
Speaking to reporters at Wembley after the cup final, De Bruyne offered the clearest indication yet that he will not be joining his teammates in the United States, saying if he gets injured then 'nobody will take care' of him.
"I think in a way I have to take care of myself because if I get injured in the Club World Cup, what am I going to do?" he asked. "Nobody's going to take care of me at that point. So there's a big chance probably I won't play it, but I dunno, maybe yes.
"[The situation] doesn't make any sense, but I think that happens when you push in new tournaments in the middle of this contract situation. But I'm just a player. I don't make the rules, I can't do anything about it. So in the end, like I said, I'll probably have to take care of myself what is a normal decision. We can speak about it but I don't know."
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De Bruyne also confirmed that he hasn't made a decision on his future but did say talks have taken place with other clubs.
"I'll take my decision whenever I'm ready or comfortable with making my decision. So that's probably for me the most important," he shrugged. "I want to finish these two games and then obviously, ultimately, after make a decision, but it's not that easy. I have to take care of my family. I've got three kids, my wife, it's not an easy process at this time.
"Everything has to fall into place for my family and for myself. Like I said before, when you're 20 years old and make a decision, it's easy. You can move to another country and it's not a problem. But I want to take the best decision. What is good for my kids, for my wife, school, living, all those things that you need to take and think about, whenever I make the decision I'll let you guys know."
There was also a moment of humour as De Bruyne was asked if it was disappointing not to sign off with one more trophy at City. "Yeah, okay. I could have won 20, I have 19 now. It's alright!" he smiled.
"This doesn't change anything that's happened in the past 10 years. Of course I want to win, but I wanted to win last year also. There's things that happen and it's been amazing, so what can I say? It's mostly been really, really good moments, so that's life."
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