Guardiola not concerned with De Bruyne contract negotiations

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:47 CDT
• 3 min read

Pep Guardiola says he is “not worried” about the prospect of Kevin De Bruyne not signing a new, extended contract with Man City.

The Belgian superstar is currently contracted to the club until the summer of 2023 so neither party are reportedly in any rush to seal any new deal, but City remain keen to reward De Bruyne for his form and ensure he remains an integral part of team for at least the next few years.

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Some negotiations have started, and although nothing has been agreed yet, Guardiola remains unconcerned.

“Absolutely not,” the City boss responded when asked if he was worried De Bruyne was yet to put pen to paper on an extended contract.

“I’m pretty sure he will stay but at the same time we have to respect the process.

“I don’t know what is going on because I didn’t speak with Txiki [Begiristain, City’s director of football] but he knows how we appreciate him, not just as a football player but as a person, how important he is for the club.

“I’m not worried but at the end it’s his decision. Hopefully it’s going to finish well.”

The former Chelsea and Wolfsburg midfield has previously claimed to be happy at City.

De Bruyne was the best player on the pitch in City’s most recent match – an extremely impressive 3-1 away victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

Kevin De Bruyne: Snapshot

In that fixture, he played in an unconventional centre-forward role, but Guardiola says this was simply down to the team having little options up front rather than any tactical innovation.

“We don’t have strikers,” he explained.

“Gabriel [Jesus] and Ferran [Torres] have Covid, Raheem [Sterling] can play there but I prefer to play him wider instead of a central position.

“We don’t have much alternative. Sergio [Aguero] is still not completely fit. We found, of course, Bernardo [Silva] can play there but we decided to play Kevin.

“The next game, maybe another situation. We will see.”

Man City’s next match sees them take on city rivals Man Utd in the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.