Barcelona were interested in the possibility of signing Kevin De Bruyne
Last Updated: April 8, 2021 2:54 pm
Contract ‘straightforward’
It was announced yesterday that Manchester City had managed to agree a new contract extension with Belgium international and club talisman Kevin De Bruyne.
Since arriving from Wolfsburg, after a brief spell with Chelsea, the 29-year-old midfielder has become arguably the best player in the Premier League, and City were in no doubt about extending his contract into the future.
Speaking after the deal had been agreed, De Bruyne explained why the Sky Blues represent the perfect club for him to remain with.
“Signing this contract was a straightforward decision,” he said.
“This football club is geared for success. It offers me everything I need to maximise my performance.”
“Our results and performances so far have been excellent, but we need to make sure we end the season with the silverware we deserve.”
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 16: Raheem Sterling of Manchester City celebrates after scoring his sides fourth goal with Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City, Phil Foden of Manchester City, Bernardo Silva of Manchester City during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur at Etihad Stadium on December 16, 2017 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Barcelona explored De Bruyne option
One of the more interesting notes to come out of the news surrounding De Bruyne’s new contract came in the form of interest from another club.
One club credited with an interest in the midfielder were La Liga heavyweights Barcelona. The Blaugrana are facing an impossible task in attempting to replace Lionel Messi – whose contract expires at the end of the season.
De Bruyne would represent the kind of player whose profile would help to fill the void, should the Argentine depart. However, it was supposedly the pandemic which put an end to Barca’s plans to pursue any kind of deal.
‘Barcelona had explored the possibility of buying De Bruyne but the pandemic snuffed out any chance they had of signing the PFA player of the year as their debts have risen to £1 billion,’ wrote The Times’ Paul Hirst.
It is not all bad news for Barca, though, as their own youngster Pedri could come through to effectively be the player that De Bruyne would have been, had he signed for the club. Big things are expected from the now senior Spanish international.
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This article was edited by Conor Laird.
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| 2 | Manchester United FC | 31 | 27 | 63 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 32 | 11 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 32 | 17 | 50 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 31 | 3 | 49 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 31 | 8 | 45 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 31 | -17 | 36 |
| 15 | Newcastle United FC | 32 | -18 | 35 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 31 | -5 | 33 |
| 17 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | -31 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 31 | -38 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 21 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Lingard, Jesse | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Holgate, Mason | Everton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
