Chelsea fans do not need reminding that their club let Kevin De Bruyne go for little money. His latest comments won’t help with the pain either.
Jose Mourinho sold Kevin De Bruyne. For all that the Special One has done for Chelsea, this is one decision fans still rue, not least because the Belgian has developed into one of the finest players in the world. His latest comments regarding his departure reinstate that he has no regrets.
Speaking to FourFourTwo, De Bruyne said that the decision to leave Chelsea was ‘obvious’ having failed to win over Jose Mourinho.
"I’ve no idea and I don’t care [why he never won over Mourinho]. I waited four months…I couldn’t get the game time I wanted, so leaving was the obvious choice. I wanted to start a new chapter – not be loaned out and come back to the exact same situation. It was a really smart move on my part."
It was indeed one hell of a smart move from the Belgian. De Bruyne joined Wolfsburg in January 2014 for under £20 million. He then went on to take the Bundesliga by storm, collecting numerous accolades after a stellar 2014/15 campaign.
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He racked up the most assists in the German top flight and was included in the Europa League team of the tournament. More significantly, De Bruyne was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season in addition to be crowned the best footballer in Germany.
The midfielder then returned to the Premier League last summer, joining Manchester City in a deal worth in excess of £50 million. He found his feet in the 2015/16 campaign, but still scored 16 goals. This season, though, he very much looks like the world-beater he has always promised to be.
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What will hurt Chelsea fans in these comments, though, is the fact that he is right. The Blues’ struggles / refusal to graduate young players into the first team has been well documented in recent times and De Bruyne represents arguably their biggest failure.
The Belgian is also the first player to actively come back and haunt the Blues. He is playing at a Premier League rival and is a key cog in the Manchester City machine.
In fact, many pundits will justifiably claim that De Bruyne is the man to lead Pep Guardiola to his first English title. The midfielder has looked imperious thus far this season.
While Chelsea fans may be despondent over what could have been, the good news is that Antonio Conte has his team firing on all cylinders. After a rocky start, a switch to a three-man defence has seen Chelsea win four straight league games.
Nevertheless, imagine if De Bruyne was playing alongside Eden Hazard in a blue shirt…