Pep Guardiola spoke about his sadness at Kevin De Bruyne leaving after ten years as a Manchester City player
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Pep Guardiola embraces Kevin De Bruyne after the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City
Kevin De Bruyne will leave Manchester City this summer when his contract expires
Pep Guardiola admitted it has been difficult for Kevin De Bruyne to say goodbye to Manchester City while he still wants to stay. The 33-year-old will play his final game for the club at Fulham on Sunday after they chose not to renew his contract.
De Bruyne has not confirmed where he is off to next, but he has spoken about his hurt at the way his future was decided. However much it was a 'business' decision, the Belgian has had to come to terms with the fact that his bosses do not share his view on what he can bring to the team and he will have to find a new home after ten years in Manchester.
Guardiola has had to marry the best for De Bruyne with the best for the team in the last two months as they have had to fight to confirm qualification for next season's Champions League. It is still not definite heading into the final day at Craven Cottage, although a point is all the Blues need.
City's manager has not had much time to consider life without De Bruyne as he focuses on his team getting over the line this season. However, there is already a sadness that a player who he has so memories with will soon be out of his everyday life.
"When the decision is shared and both agree, it's easier. When it's not, because Kevin would have liked to stay and the club decides not to, it's always difficult," he told TNT Mexico.
"It's many years, many days, many training sessions, many games, many joys and many bad moments; so many things that come together in a moment when you'll never be together again.
"Obviously, they'll be there when we see each other, but in the day-to-day, when you go to the chat and see that place where he was sitting...oh God, he's not there anymore."
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City fans sang that they wanted De Bruyne to stay as virtually the whole crowd stuck around to wave him off one last time at the Etihad on Tuesday night, and the club announced that there will be a statue of him built outside the stadium. However much sadness there is around the ending, Guardiola has impressed on De Bruyne what a perfect time he has had at the club if these are his final days and weeks.
"I talked to him about how happy he must be, that he received an insulting amount of love! Leaving this way is very good because titles are very good, all the great actions are very good, but receiving this connection of feeling so loved, this is priceless.
"This is what takes you. I mean, the doors are open here for what he wants. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest, if not the greatest.
"And this goes, when you go to a job for a decade, you arrive, you're here, you don't know what's going to happen, and you leave the way you leave after 10 years having won everything and winning again and in this way feeling so loved, it's let's say the happy ending we all wish for, the truth is that we all have it in our jobs.
"He had it and it's what has to stay, and he's convinced the new chapter. And that he has to take it, he'll do it well and be the best."