Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola knows it will be difficult to find a replacement for midfielder Kevin de Bruyne should the Belgian leave next year.
The playmaker joined City in 2015 and has since played a key role in their trophy-laden spell, but his contract expires at the end of the season.
De Bruyne's season has been hampered by injury but the 33-year-old started his first Premier League game since August as City returned to victory after seven winless games against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
And Guardiola couldn't emphasize enough the impact De Bruyne has had on the club.
“I'm not involved,” the City boss said when questioned about contract negotiations with De Bruyne.
“I would like him to be 23 years old and sign a ten-year contract. This is what I want, we'll see.”
“I'm so happy he's back,” said Pep Guardiola after Kevin De Bruyne made his first start since September at @ManCity” >@ManCity's latest win
It's clear why pic.twitter.com/IkmIBHRCXF
— Premier League (@premierleague” >@premierleague) December 6, 2024
De Bryune signed for City a year before Guardiola's arrival and won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five EFL Cups, while also helping them to their first-ever Champions League win during the 2022-2023 season.
“There are players for whom the impact on the legacy of this club will be eternal, will be forever,” Guardiola said.
“It is of course not easy to replace this [them]But as a club we have to discover at this moment: if it is going to happen, we have to find the best way.”
Before the game against Forest, Guardiola had to brush aside suggestions of a rift between himself and De Bruyne.
“People say I have a problem with Kevin. Do you think I like not playing with Kevin? No, I don't want Kevin to play?” he said.
“I don't want the guy who has the most talent in the final third? Do I have a personal problem with him after nine years together?
“He has given me the greatest success for this club, but he has been injured for five months [last season] and injured for two months [this season].
“He is 33 years old. He needs time to find the best of himself, just like last season, step by step. He will try to do it and feel better. I desperately want to have the best of himself.”
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