Pep Guardiola has firmly stated that Kevin De Bruyne will remain with Manchester City this summer, despite ongoing speculation about the midfielder’s potential move to the Saudi Pro League.
De Bruyne had previously indicated that he was open to a move to the Middle East, as he enters the final year of his contract.
The Belgian midfielder is set to conclude his decade-long tenure at the Etihad Stadium at the end of the upcoming season unless the club can persuade him to extend his stay.
Guardiola, however, has dispelled rumours of De Bruyne’s departure, emphasizing that his star player will “not” leave this summer.
Speaking ahead of City’s pre-season friendly against Celtic, Guardiola said, “Kevin is not going. If someone leaves, we’re going to talk about that.”
The manager also noted that while there is still time to make transfers before the window closes, he anticipates an 85-90 percent chance of retaining the current squad.
“I feel comfortable, because the quality of human beings we have in the squad is difficult to be replaced, and the quality is there. But we’ll see, I don’t know in the last moment if someone comes for some players and they leave, we’re going to decide,” Guardiola added.
Guardiola’s remarks put to rest recent reports suggesting that De Bruyne had agreed to personal terms with Al Ittihad, a team featuring Karim Benzema, Fabinho, and N’Golo Kante.
Since joining City in the summer of 2015, De Bruyne has won 15 major trophies with the club.
