Pep Guardiola says Kevin De Bruyne does not want to stay at Manchester City next season if he is not at his best.
De Bruyne's contract expires in July and the Belgian star has been key to City's many successes since joining from Wolfsburg for £55 million in 2015. De Bruyne, 33, has been struggling with injuries and the last of his five starts this season came against Inter Milan. in the Champions League in mid-September.
He has struggled to get back to top form and Guardiola says he may not be the main man for them next season if he stays. “I don't know,” said the city boss.
“I'm pretty sure Kevin will be honest. He will want to finish here at his best after this season, or the next, or the next. I don't think he'll be here if he doesn't feel like he can be the Kevin that can produce and help the team like he has over the last decade. I'm pretty sure of that.
“In these kinds of situations, like David Silva did, he will decide what is best for him and the team because I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to be in a position that isn't possible. I'm not saying he has to play every three games.” days for 11 months – but if he performs he has to play Kevin as best he can, and unfortunately with the injuries he couldn't deliver.”
De Bruyne says he has been suffering from an abdominal problem for two months, which meant he couldn't even kick the ball because he was in so much pain. He felt better after coming on as a substitute against Tottenham on Saturday and does not know what he will do in the summer.
De Bruyne held preliminary contract talks with City last summer, but has put them on hold until he is finally fully fit. “Honestly, I don't know,” he said. “Going into the season, I obviously knew things were going to happen and conversations were going to happen. But then unfortunately I had that thing against Brentford. So I actually put everything aside.
“I was hoping to be out for a few days, but it ended up being eight or nine weeks. So for the time being, I would rather get better first and then see how I am doing and the rest will come.
“I'm not that obsessed with things right now. I know people will ask me about this, but I can't say much about it. There haven't been many conversations, so I'm doing well, I'm happy. I just want to play good football again and we'll see about the future.
“There will be questions, but I can only give you the answers I'm giving you now because there's really nothing left to talk about. There will be conversations. If there are no conversations, then it will be my last year. So I don't know. I try to be honest and people can say or write about it. I cannot influence that. I just want to play good football and we'll see what the future brings.”
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