100 million pounds! Saudi Arabian teams will go all out this summer to buy Manchester City's real core or join forces with Ronaldo's dream
In the early morning of February 24, Beijing time, the famous journalist Ben Jacobs broke the news that the Saudi team will go all out to buy Manchester City's real core De Bruyne this summer, and is willing to pay a sky-high price of more than 100 million pounds. At that time, the 32-year-old Belgian midfield maestro will be able to choose between four teams under the Saudi Public Investment Fund, including Riyadh Victory, Riyadh Crescent, Jeddah National and Jeddah United, and become a superstar in the Saudi professional league.
The 32-year-old De Bruyne has been sidelined for almost half a season this season due to a serious injury, but his impressive stats of two goals and eight assists in eight games after his comeback are enough to show how important he is to the Premier League king. Judging from the performance of the game, De Bruyne's passing is still of a super-class level, and his presence has qualitatively improved the scoring efficiency and threat of Manchester City's attacking line. If Manchester City are to achieve their dream of defending their title in the third tier this season, a healthy Kevin De Bruyne is indispensable.
However, at the age of 32, the gradual increase in injuries also forced Manchester City to plan ahead and start looking for a suitable successor for De Bruyne. West Ham United midfielder Paqueta and Bayer Leverkusen's 20-year-old talent Wirtz are both targets for Manchester City, and the former would probably have been a member of Manchester City if he had not been investigated by the FA for alleged betting violations last summer. And Wirtz, who is worth more than 100 million yuan, will most likely be bought by Manchester City this summer, so that in the post-De Bruyne era, someone can stand up and take on the responsibility of organizing the attack in the midfield.
Manchester City will certainly want Kevin De Bruyne to stay in the squad, even at the Etihad Stadium. However, if the Saudis do make an offer of £100 million this summer, Manchester City will also seriously consider it, after all, it is basically impossible for a 32-year-old player to sell for such a sky-high price. The £100 million bid for Wirtz in exchange for Kevin De Bruyne to create a seamless transition between two generations of midfield nucleus would certainly be a perfect result. Of course, this will only be done if Kevin De Bruyne is willing to leave, and City will certainly respect the choice of the decorated veteran.
However, getting a super contract at the end of his career and earning the last pot of gold is also very tempting for De Bruyne. What makes him even more excited is the opportunity to fight side by side with Ronaldo. In a previous interview, De Bruyne publicly stated that the Portuguese superstar is the striker he would most like to partner with. It's a pity that the two have never had the opportunity to join forces at their peak. Now, with an opportunity to realize his dreams, De Bruyne is unlikely to be tempted. Joining forces with Ronaldo is probably also the most important bargaining chip for the Saudi side to persuade him to agree to go to West Asia to pan for gold.