Update: ‘It was brief’ – Kevin De Bruyne reveals ‘shock’ meeting when Man City future was decided for him News

Kevin De Bruyne’s glittering decade at Manchester City will come to an end this summer after the club decided not to offer him a new contract.

Kevin De Bruyne made it crystal clear he disagrees with Manchester City’s decision not to renew his contract, opening up on his shock at not receiving any offer from the club before learning he will leave at the end of the season.

City took the decision not to renew De Bruyne’s deal and he will leave in the summer. The Belgian, 33, admitted he doesn’t know if he will represent the club at this summer’s Club World Cup – leaving the real possibility that he has just five or six games left at the Etihad.

Speaking at Goodison Park, De Bruyne offered his side of the story and suggested City may have been influenced by the squad’s overall struggles rather than his own personal form when making their decision.

He insisted he can still play at the top level, did not rule out any club as his next move, and said he was taken aback when told by Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano that he would not get a new contract – admitting that he was shocked at the news.

“I have not had any offer the whole year, they just took a decision,” he said. “I was a bit surprised but I just have to accept it. It’s fine. Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level, like I’m showing. The decision has been taken and since then I just want to play football like I always have. I need to look at the future, start speaking to people.

“I have to accept the situation, even if I feel like I can still do a good job, but that’s it. I have to accept people taking decisions, I told them also, I feel like I still have a lot to give. Obviously I know I’m not 25 any more, but I still feel like I can do my job.”

De Bruyne described the meeting with Begiristain and Soriano as ‘brief’, saying: “it’s basically more business-wise for them, they just make decision based on that. It was not really a long conversation, it was just what they told me and then there’s nothing. I don’t feel awkward – in the end, it is what it is.”

The Belgian then looked to his future, confirming that he has not thought about his participation in the Club World Cup in June and July, adding that he will consider any offer put to him in the coming weeks, even from a Premier League rival.

“I’m open for anything, anything, I have to look at the whole picture,” he explained. “I’m looking at sporting, family, everything together, what makes the most sense for me and my family. I don’t know what that is, because it depends on when you speak to people and what they say about projects or something.

“It’s also basically why they’ve made the decision because the whole team have struggled. Maybe if the team didn’t struggle and I came back like I did this year and bedded in like normal then maybe they take another decision. I don’t know.

“They told me what the decision was and I can’t say what they think on the inside. I still think I’m in good shape, I played way more than I did last year except the hernia. I feel good and the rhythm is coming. I still feel like I can play at a good level, but then after I’ll have to make a decision once I really know a little bit more.”

—