Pep Guardiola says Kevin de Bruyne ‘not leaving’ Manchester City – The Irish News

Pep Guardiola has said Kevin de Bruyne is “not leaving” Manchester City this season, despite reports linking the playmaker with a move to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad are said to be targeting the Belgian, with de Bruyne – who has a year left on his current contract – admitting last month that he had discussed the future with his wife Michele.

However, speaking ahead of Manchester City’s friendly against Celtic in North Carolina, Manchester City manager Guardiola told reporters that the 33-year-old was “not leaving”.

“If someone leaves, we’ll talk about it,” he said.

“Of course until the last day we have chances (to make transfers), I don’t rule out the option of having new players, but I think there is an 85.90 percent chance of having the same team.

“I feel comfortable because the quality of people we have in the team is hard to replace and the quality is there.

“But we will see, I don’t know at the last minute if someone comes for some players and leaves, we will decide.”

In June, de Bruyne told Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws that he relished the idea of ​​a lucrative payday in the latter stages of his career.

“For Michele, an exotic fling is OK,” he told the paper.

“These are also conversations we’re having more and more as a family. I have one year left on my contract, so I have to think about what can happen.

“My eldest (my child) is now eight years old and knows nothing but England. He also asks how long I will play at City. Once the time comes, we will have to deal with it in a certain way.

“At my age, you have to be open to everything. You are talking about incredible amounts in what could be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about it.

“If I play there for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money.”

De Bruyne signed for City in the summer of 2015 and has won 15 major trophies.