Al Ittihad Abandon Their Kevin De Bruyne Pursuit After Manchester City Refuses to Budge on £100 Million Price Tag Despite Only 12 Months Left on His Current Deal
Al Ittihad have decided to pull out of negotiations to secure the services of Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. This was after Manchester City refused to lower their asking price of £100 million and remain content with possibly losing him for free next summer.
After manager Pep Guardiola expressed his desire to keep Kevin De Bruyne beyond this summer, the club’s hierarchy took his cue and opted for a hard-line stance in negotiations with Al Ittihad. With the PIF changing tact to spend smartly and avoid paying too much over the top, Al Ittihad’s only choice was to walk away from the negotiations.
The feeling at Al Ittihad was that with a year left on his contract, a deal for De Bruyne would be easy, with the club keen on avoiding the playmaker leaving for free upon expiry of his contract. However, with Guardiola emphasizing the Belgian’s importance to the squad, talks over a possible transfer have proven to be challenging.
Al Ittihad will now move on to other targets as they seek to bolster the squad in anticipation of the 2024-25 season, which starts in a few weeks. With Moussa Diaby being the highest-profile signing so far, Al Ittihad are bound to make a few more signings before the end of the transfer window. They will be sure to monitor De Bruyne’s situation and possibly make an approach when he is a free agent, should he choose not to extend his current deal.
