De Bruyne open to lucrative Saudi move

Kevin De Bruyne is talking with his family about possibly moving to Saudi Arabia as a free agent next year, the Manchester City playmaker said on Tuesday.

The Belgium star will have just turned 34 and completed 10 seasons at the English Premier League champion when his contract expires next June.

"You're talking about incredible sums of money during what might well be the twilight of my career," De Bruyne told Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws when asked if he would consider moving to a Saudi club.

"For Michele (his wife), an exotic adventure is OK. These are conversations we are having more and more as a family," he said, noting that his 8-year-old son "only knows England. He is also asking how long I will play for City."

Saudi league clubs backed by the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund have spent hundreds of millions of dollars paying eye-watering salaries and huge transfer fees to lure top players since Cristiano Ronaldo moved there nearly 18 months ago.

Karim Benzema and Neymar soon followed, though Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe resisted such offers last year.

Saudi officials have said they want to focus on signing more young players at the peak of their careers, but an exception would surely be made for a generational talent like De Bruyne.

His visionary passing, reading of the game and shooting has so far helped Man City win six Premier League titles.

"At my age, you have to be open to everything," De Bruyne said.

He could also attract offers to start playing in Major League Soccer one year ahead of the United States co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

De Bruyne never won a tournament title with Belgium, despite being part of its so-called "golden generation "over the past decade.

He spoke to the Belgian news outlet while in the Belgium camp ahead of the European Championship, which starts on June 14.

De Bruyne played with torn ankle ligaments when Belgium went out to Italy in the Euro 2000 quarterfinals, but appears to be in top form as his side prepares to face Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine in Germany.

Agencies