Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis believes Kevin De Bruyne has bought a villa in Italy ahead of a free transfer to the Italian champions when his Manchester City contract expires.
A decade since his signing, De Bruyne played his last of 422 matches in a Man City shirt away at Fulham on Sunday and before that against Bournemouth was given a grand farewell in front of the Etihad Stadium crowd.
The 33-year-old had previously been told that his contract would not be renewed beyond the end of the 2024/25 campaign, opening the door for the next step of his career.
It was claimed that Arsenal were on alert after De Bruyne communicated his decision that he would be leaving City. But the Telegraph confirmed last week that there is no possibility of him joining a Premier League rival, with Liverpool also linked.
It came after Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah cheekily suggested Anfield could be the next destination for the midfielder. "I want to tell him congratulations for your career," Salah told Sky Sports.
"He’s done a phenomenal job at City, and he was great for the league. I really wish him the best…and we have a space for him!"
De Bruyne has been clear that he feels he can still contribute at a high level, and that is evidenced by most intense transfer speculation being around a move to newly-crowned Serie A champions, Napoli.
Gli Azzurri were parading their trophy through the Italian city on an open-top bus on Monday, where club president De Laurentiis spoke of the Belgian.
"Will he get to lift this cup too? Probably yes," he told Italian broadcaster RAI. "I know that he’s sorted a few things already and I believe he’s already bought a beautiful villa [in Italy].
"This morning I was on a video call with him, his wife and his nine-year-old son and it was a beautiful sight."
When pressed if his comment could be considered as confirmation of De Bruyne's arrival, De Laurentiis replied: "Not yet. Until it’s in black and white, there will be no confirmation."
De Bruyne's parting gift was to help his club achieve their remaining goal on the final day of the season, to which Pep Guardiola said: "Thanks again to Kevin for his incredible contribution for the last month and a half to help us to be in the Champions League."
Heading into the final week of the season the midfielder admitted that he is unlikely to play at this summer's FIFA Club World Cup due to the injury risks involved, but also because Man City had not yet asked him at that stage.
Him playing there would require an agreement to stay beyond June 30 when his contract ends.
As reported by Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, De Bruyne could earn €25m (£21m) in wages in Naples. It is claimed he could also net a an initial €10m (£8m) signing bonus, before securing €5.5m (£4.6m) per season as performance-based add-ons potentially increase his salary.