🚨BREAKING: Kevin de Bruyne has no choice but to leave Etihad today as his deal to Real Madrid successfully sealed[€235]M rated

🚨BREAKING: Kevin de Bruyne has no choice but to leave Etihad today as his deal to Real Madrid successfully sealed[€235]M rated.

willing to cut his salary in half to play two or three seasons at Real Madrid.

The Belgian international has asked his agent to contact Madrid and get him a deal that will make him play as Toni Kroos replacement.

Jump to content
UK NEWS WEBSITE OF THE YEAR 2024
News
Election
Euros
Sport
Money
Travel
Business
Health
Opinion
Podcasts
Ukraine
Royals
Life & Style
Culture
Puzzles
Log in
See all Sport
Kevin De Bruyne reveals he has been playing with torn hamstring for two months
Midfielder may face three-month lay-off after winning Champions League – which his wife said would happen in August last year

James Ducker,
NORTHERN FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT, IN ISTANBUL
11 June 2023 • 12:00pm

30

Kevin De Bruyne looked exhausted. Sixty games in 12 months for club and country had pushed his body past breaking point but the pain of a shattered right hamstring and the potential three-month lay-off to follow was, in his eyes, a small price to pay for the medal now hanging around his neck.

Indeed, the Manchester City and Belgium international midfielder joked that the only real discomfort he was feeling of being a Champions League winner at long last was the knowledge that he would soon be having to tell his wife, Michele Lacroix, she was right all along.

“I don’t know why my wife said last August: ‘You’re going to win the Champions League’. I’ve no idea why but she always maintained I would,” De Bruyne explained. “She even said today [before the game]: ‘I’m not worried. You’ll be fine, you’ll win it’. In the end it’s a little bit of a shame because I have to tell her she was right! So that’s not the best!”

De Bruyne can joke now but he was not laughing after 35 minutes of Saturday’s final at the Ataturk Stadium. The injury he had kept hidden from all but City’s inner circle for two months – one he had somehow powered through to deliver lung-busting performances against Bayern Munich in Germany, Arsenal and Real Madrid – finally blew up. Now, for the second time in three seasons, the Belgian was having to come to terms with another Champions League final being cut cruelly short.

Against Chelsea in Porto two years ago, he left the field concussed and with a fractured eye-socket and nose after running into a cynical body check from Antonio Rüdiger. This time, against Inter Milan, a suspected grade three tear to his right hamstring did for him.

That he was able to get as far as he did managing that problem, and some private family issues that have been very difficult to deal with for different reasons, speak volumes for a player whose special gifts become all the more potent when married with such fight and determination.

“I just try to do what I need to do,” De Bruyne said, with typical understatement. “I try to be available for my team and I know with the type of player I am there is sometimes a possibility, with all the power and the type of runs I make and the intensity with which I play, that I put my body on the line. But that’s fine. I do everything to win the game. And sometimes it’s hard, yes, but I don’t think of it that way. I want to be ready for the next game and if it happens afterwards that I get an injury it’s fine, I’ll deal with it.

“I actually felt alright this week but I’ve been told for two months there’s a possibility I was at risk but, you know, you take it.

“I did what I had to do. Obviously I missed some matches but the games like Arsenal, Bayern and Madrid I managed to do it. I had some personal things that happened with my family on top of that and I managed that.

“I’ve been struggling for two months but it was all small ruptures. Today the hamstring just snapped. I give everything for my team and the people in the club know that. I feel proud that I’ve been able to do what I did. It’s a shame that it went the way it did for me today but we go away winning the Champions League so there’s nothing bad.”

De Bruyne said he would undergo a scan this week and would miss Belgium’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Austria on Saturday and Estonia three days later, denying him the chance of winning a 100th cap for his country. If his worst fears are realised and he has suffered a full rupture, he could be out for up to three months, which would see him miss the start of next season, but he was philosophical on the matter. “I’ve no idea [how long I will be out],” he said. “I don’t know what the plan is. I’ll probably take a scan somewhere this week. I’ll be out of the national team 100 per cent, I know that, which is a shame because I would have played my 100th game but, yeah, it is what it is.”

De Bruyne finally got his hands on the European Cup after City beat Inter Milan CREDIT: Reuters/Matthew Childs
Despite being forced off prematurely, De Bruyne was spotted barking instructions in the shadow of manager Pep Guardiola in the second half. “I just wanted to help my team in one way or another,” he said. “I had the injury and I had to come off so I wanted to help my team in any way possible and I did what I needed to do.”

De Bruyne admitted he had feelings of both joy and relief and did not want to look too far but, instead, enjoy the moment. But he insisted that, despite a long quest to win the Champions League, that the achievement alone should not define his career. “I’ve basically been fighting all my career with my team to win this medal,” he said. “But I still don’t think it defines my career. I think it helps but I don’t judge myself or my career solely on this game.

“I know who I am as a football player and person and I am happy, proud and satisfied with who I am. People can say so much about you but if you’re satisfied with yourself and do what you need to go and give your all you can be proud no matter what … but, obviously, you want to win.”

Related Topics
Manchester City FC, Kevin De Bruyne

30
License this content
The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our commenting policy.

Show comments
More stories
Princess of Wales begins return to public life

Debate winner was unclear but Rayner was the one who lost it

General election latest: Nigel Farage demands one-on-one debate with Starmer

Rayner refuses to rule out applying capital gains tax to family home sales

James May: Pride flags are ‘authoritarian’ and ‘oppressive’

There may only be one path left for Sunak to avoid total disaster

More from Football
Everton ready to grant exclusivity terms to Roma owner Dan Friedkin for takeover bid

Exclusive: England fans at Euro 2024 told to yell ‘Panama’ if they feel in danger

LIVE Germany vs Scotland: Build-up and latest updates from Euro 2024 opening match

Quiz: Match the England player with their dog in fancy dress

Manchester United to start work on Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s £50m training-ground revamp

Euro 2024 today: Including Germany vs Scotland TV channel, time and odds

More from The Telegraph
This is doomsday for the Conservative Party

Pound jumps as euro hit by French political turmoil – latest updates

Where to put £100k savings right now for the highest return

Emma Raducanu vs Francesca Jones: Latest updates on start time at Nottingham Open

Putin’s latest gambit shows how desperate he has become

US Open 2024 live: Latest updates with McIlroy contending as Scheffler struggles at Pinehurst

More from betting
Italy vs Albania predictions: Euro 2024 tips and odds
Sponsored

Hungary vs Switzerland predictions: Euro 2024 tips and odds
Sponsored

Spain vs Croatia predictions: Euro 2024 tips and odds
Sponsored

Bet of the day
Sponsored

Could Maguire’s absence halt England’s charge?
Sponsored

Germany vs Scotland bet builder tips: What does history tell us?
Sponsored

Betting
The latest offers and odds provided by Betting Expert | Advertiser content

Free bets

Bet of the day

Premier League odds

Euro 2024 odds

Football tips and offers

Best betting sites
Back to top
Follow us on:
Download the Telegraph App
Help Centre
About us
Telegraph Extra
Reader Prints
Branded Content
Syndication and Commissioning
Fantasy Sport
UK Voucher Codes
Betting Offers
Tax Strategy
Broadband and Mobile Deals
Newsletters
Privacy
Terms & Conditions
Modern Slavery
Advertising terms
Guidelines
The Chelsea Magazine Company
© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2024