Kevin De Bruyne: “Painful” Man City exit justified as Napoli’s new signing will be “treated like a God”

Kevin De Bruyne will be ‘treated like a God’ at his new club Napoli following his “painful” exit from Manchester City, Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole.

The legendary playmaker will leave the Citizens when his contract expires at the end of this month after a glittering 10-year career at the Etihad Stadium where he won 19 trophies, including six Premier League titles and one Champions League.

After being swarmed by excited Napoli supporters as he arrived in Italy for his medical, De Bruyne was officially unveiled as the latest signing for the Serie A champions last week and is believed to have penned a two-year contract with the option of an additional 12 months.

The two-time Premier League Player of the Season, who scored 108 goals and provided 177 assists in 422 appearances for Man City, was not offered a new contract by the club, despite wanting to extend his stay on the blue side of Manchester.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest playmakers in the modern era, De Bruyne has struggled with injury and fitness issues in recent years, although he did start in seven of Man City’s final eight Premier League games in 2024-25, helping Pep Guardiola’s side qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Nevertheless, McInerney believes that now is the right time for De Bruyne and Man City to part ways and he is pleased to have seen the 33-year-old Belgium join a Napoli side seeking to build on their title triumph next season under head coach Antonio Conte.

Is De Bruyne the right fit for Napoli?

Speaking to Sports Mole, McInerney said: “I'm really happy for him. I felt it was the right time for him to move on. I know he was really good, but I think if you told a lot of City fans that we'd be replacing De Bruyne with [Rayan] Cherki, I think it would have been a lot easier to swallow.

“I was very much of the mindset that you can't keep De Bruyne around and also try and get a new number 10 and at the same time. They’d barely play any football because Kevin De Bruyne is so good that he demands inclusion because he's Kevin De Bruyne, so I felt it was the right time.

“I think there was still brilliance there, but the brilliance was less frequent, the injuries were obviously more profound and I felt it was the right time for De Bruyne to go. He ended the season with his head held high, got City in the Champions League and had some really big performances towards the end.”

“It's absolutely painful,” McInerney added. “He's genuinely my favourite ever Manchester City player. I think he's an insanely gifted, once-in-a-lifetime footballer. The only thing I cared about was that he didn't go to another Premier League club, or maybe a club like Real Madrid.

“I wanted to see him go somewhere a little bit more interesting and Napoli fit that down to a tee. An intensely passionate club with legends and history.

“I think he’ll enjoy Serie A as well. I think the slightly slower pace compared to the intensity of the German league or the French league or the Premier League, it is a little bit slower, not as much as people make it out, but it is.

‘Napoli will treat De Bruyne like the God that he is’

“I think he'll enjoy playing with [Romelu] Lukaku. The [Scott] McTominay link-up is fascinating and Billy Gilmour. I think he'll really enjoy it over there.

“They'll treat him like the God that he is. He's a genuinely special footballer. One that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest to ever do it, not just the greatest ever for Manchester City, but one of the greatest to ever do it in the history of world football, full stop.”

Indeed, when debates are had over who are the greatest footballers to have graced the beautiful game, McInerney believes that “special footballer” De Bruyne should always be in the conversation.

“De Bruyne is up there in the conversation with [Luka] Modric, [Andrea] Iniesta and [Zinedine] Zidane, people like that. I think he's that level of special,” he added.

“I think if he was playing for a club other than Manchester City - and this is not me just trying to be all tribalistic, I think it's true - I don't think City have the historic standing of Madrid or Liverpool in the Premier League. We're not seen as one of those traditionally historic clubs because we're new money and we're new trophies and all that kind of stuff.

‘Time will be very kind to King Kev’

“I know City have been around a long time, but what I'm saying is people don't hold City in a high standing. If De Bruyne had achieved what he did at Manchester City at a club like Real Madrid, no-one would be questioning if he's one of the greatest ever. They would be demanding that he is. He'd be in the conversations with those players.

“All to be said is that I think time will be very kind to him. I think people will realise once the dust has settled and they remove the City hate from it, that De Bruyne was a special footballer and a lot of people already can admit that.

“I think you only have to look at the reaction he's getting over in Napoli. They are absolutely thrilled to see him in a Napoli shirt. They can't wait to see him over there.

“He's been treated like a king and I can't wait to see how he gets on. I'm hoping he gets a title with them and I hope he's brilliant because I want to look over and see those envious glances like ‘Oh, I wish Kev was here’.

“I hope [Man City] don't need him as we've got Cherki and so on, but I want him to do really, really well there and it's good to see him go to a team that I can get behind.”

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Written by
Oliver Thomas