Exclusive: Iconic Man City star targeted in £100m-plus mega move by Saudi sides

Saudi Pro League sides could be willing to offer Manchester City a deal worth in excess of £100 million for star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, TEAMtalk can reveal. 

De Bruyne has played an integral part in Man City’s recent dominance and remains a key member of Pep Guardiola’s side, having returned from a long-term hamstring injury at the start of 2024.

The Saudi Pro League has exploded in the last two years as the country tries to fulfil ambitions to build one of the strongest competitions in the world by attracting the best players.

Vast sums of money are on offer and some of the game’s biggest names have already made the jump, including Real Madrid legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

This summer, there will be further attempts by the Saudis to use their financial might to attract more stars and one name beginning to pick up steam with sources is De Bruyne.

The Man City great is one of the top targets among Saudi clubs and his acquisition would be seen as a major sign of the league’s importance.

There is confidence building with sources connected to the Saudi deal-makers that he can be convinced to leave English football and take a huge payday in the Middle East.

Al-Nassr — whose squad features Ronaldo — are one side who believe they can make it happen and De Bruyne would become one of the best paid players in the country.

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At 32-years old, De Bruyne is coming into the latter years of his career and, after a significant injury, there are some who feel his best days in a sky blue shirt may be behind him.

The treble winners have taken a look at midfielders as potential replacements for De Bruyne, with Jamal Musiala at Bayern Munich a prominent name being considered.

A deal of over £100 million could be done for De Bruyne and the chance for the English champions to bring in such a huge fee for an older player may be too good to turn down.

De Bruyne is keen to extend his contract at Man City

Sources in Manchester have suggested, though, that the world-class Belgian midfielder may want to continue playing at the top level for a bit longer.

De Bruyne is one game away from hitting 100 caps for his country and has collected five Premier League trophies and a Champions League winners’ medal.

With his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2025, there is talk from sources that he is keen to sign a new deal to extend his stay at the Etihad.

The roadblock to a new deal is similar to the one that faced former City star Ilkay Gundogan, who left for Barcelona in the summer of last year.

The club are not too keen to offer multi-year contracts to aging stars and this is why the Saudi Pro League sides believe a deal can be done for De Bruyne.

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