Kevin De Bruyne considering Man City to Saudi Arabia move? ‘At my age you have to be open to everything’

Saudi Arabian negotiators believe Kevin De Bruyne could be a transformative signing comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo, after the Manchester City star revealed he would consider the “incredible amount of money” on offer in the Pro League.

The 33-year-old has long been among the most prominent targets of the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that owns four of the Pro League’s biggest clubs. Sources in Saudi Arabia told CBS Sports that he would be considered a marquee signing who, if tempted to leave City, would have an impact equivalent to Ronaldo’s arrival at Al-Nassr in January 2023.

Al Nassr were seen as the main candidates to sign De Bruyne if the PIF could have negotiated a deal in the summer of 2023, but there are no guarantees that this time they would be at the top of the queue for a deal negotiated by their owners. Al-Hilal will play in next summer’s Club World Cup in the USA; Previously, the PIF first sought to strengthen clubs that will represent Saudi Arabia in international tournaments.

Saudi interest in De Bruyne last summer was unrequited by the player, but after an injury-plagued season for the City legend, it appears any interest would now be seriously considered. Representatives from Roc Nation, the agency that works with the Belgian international, were in Saudi Arabia last month for talks with several clubs, including Al-Ittihad.

“At my age you have to be open to everything,” De Bruyne told Belgian newspaper HLN. “You’re talking incredible amounts of money at what could be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that. If I play there for two years, I could make an incredible amount of money. Before that I had to play football for 15 years and I may not even reach that amount yet.

“So you have to think about what that might mean next. But at the moment I haven’t had to think about that yet.”

The emergence of the Saudi Pro League as a potential destination for the game’s biggest names was a major storyline of last summer’s transfer window, where nearly $900 million was spent on transfer fees alone, bringing in the likes of Neymar, Sadio Mane and Karim Benzema for the country. Saudi sources have indicated that the league does not intend to spend as much this year as it aims to build a more sustainable league. However, there will always be an appetite at clubs to bring in famous names like De Bruyne.

A notable exception to the restriction could be Al-Qadisah, recently promoted and owned by the national oil company Aramco. They are associated with movements by Alexandre Lacazette and Koen Casteels. Funds could also be made available to strengthen the quality of the league and to attract interest and audiences beyond the PIF quartet of Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad.

As for De Bruyne, he won every major club honor in his nine years, including six Premier League titles. If he stayed at the Etihad Stadium for another year and won the title again, he would become the fourth most successful player in the history of the competition, behind only Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs for Premier League titles. The two-time Professional Footballers’ Association player of the year struggled with injuries at the start of last season but still finished third in the assists rankings.

“I still have a year left on my contract, so I have to think about what could happen,” he said. “My eldest son is now eight and doesn’t know anything other than England. He also asks how long I’m going to play for City. When the time comes, we’ll have to deal with it in a certain way.”