Split image of Manchester City icons Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva with inset of Manchester City badge
Split image of Manchester City icons Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva with inset of Manchester City badge
Manchester City fans bid an emotional farewell to Kevin De Bruyne over the final two games of the 2024/25 Premier League season.
De Bruyne is set to join Serie A side Napoli once his Manchester City deal ends at the end of the month.
However, this summer is not as clear-cut as most other summers with regards to a clean break from the previous season, due to the Club World Cup.
Now, there could potentially be a twist in the De Bruyne tale that would see him do exactly what David Silva did just before he left City.
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
David Silva signed a short-term Manchester City contract in the summer of 2020
As things stand, Kevin De Bruyne’s contract expires on 30 June this year, during which time the Club World Cup last-16 stage will be taking place.
Ben Jacobs recently claimed that De Bruyne may need to sign a short-term contract at City if he wanted to play at the Club World Cup.
Silva was also set to leave City when his contract expired on 30 June 2020, but he signed a short-term contract extension.
The Spaniard did so in order to see out the 2019/20 season with City after it was postponed during the height of COVID in the spring of 2020.
Should De Bruyne decide to pen a short-term contract at City in order to play at the Club World Cup, he would effectively be following in Silva’s footsteps.
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What Kevin De Bruyne has said about playing at the Club World Cup
City fans will be hoping that De Bruyne agrees to play at the Club World Cup as a swansong that could see him finish on a trophy-winning note.
But while De Bruyne hasn’t given a concrete answer as to whether he will or won’t play at the Club World Cup, it doesn’t look as though he’s particularly keen.
“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?” De Bruyne recently told the Manchester Evening News.
“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 don’t know, 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.”