Manchester City scramble to ensure club icon signs a new deal amid MLS and Saudi interest

Manchester City are eager to ensure that midfield stalwart Kevin de Bruyne signs a new deal with the Belgian star’s current contract set to expire next summer.

City have the option to accept a mega-money offer from the Saudi Pro League for their iconic fan favourite but that would be a poor consolation for the club’s top brass.

MLS clubs have also been sniffing around as the 32-year-old Manchester City veteran considers his future.

As Etihad officials “push” towards reaching a new agreement, Manchester City is allegedly planning to “accelerate” contract extension discussions with De Bruyne in an effort to ward off transfer interest from the Middle East and the USA.

According to Football Insider, the Premier League winners are “doing everything they can” to get the Belgium international to sign a deal that extends into 2025.

De Bruyne is currently the highest-paid player at Manchester City with reputed wages of £400k-per-week and is likely to push to maintain that status at the very least if not secure a more lucrative deal. He signed his most recent contract extension in April 2021, six years after he first joined the club.

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Kevin de Bruyne holds all the cards in Manchester City talks

The drive from the Manchester City executives to tie down De Bruyne could be driven by reports that their star man’s advisors met with 10 Saudi Arabian clubs in the Middle East ahead of the summer transfer window.

Although it’s believed that the 32-year-old playmaker is not interested in making a massively lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League, Al Hilal has long seen the Belgian great as a dream signing, and they’re attempting to lure him to the Gulf.

De Bruyne is said to still want to play in a top league and compete for the biggest trophies in the sport rather than take a Middle Eastern pay-day.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said that he wants De Bruyne to stay at the club but believes that players have the right to consider their future carefully.

“It’s a question for him,” Guardiola said when asked if De Bruyne would be staying at City.

“I would love that he stays, but I don’t know. I listen, yeah, from some links, but I don’t know if he has an offer. I don’t know if Saudi Arabia wants him, I don’t know. I would love for him to stay here, of course. But everyone is everyone.”

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