Andoni Iraola reveals plot to spoil Kevin De Bruyne’s Manchester City farewell night | OneFootball

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has revealed his intention to spoil the party on Tuesday night as Kevin De Bruyne bids farewell to the Etihad Stadium.

The Belgium international will be calling time on his 10-year stay with Manchester City next month upon the expiry of his contract with the club, after officials at the Etihad Stadium opted not to place any renewal terms on the table for the 33-year-old.

While De Bruyne himself has seemingly struggled to come to terms with the decision made by club bosses, he still believes he can perform at the very highest level in European football and will entertain such offers over the course of the coming days and weeks.

Before then, there remains plenty of work to do for Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City players as they continue their pursuit of a top-five finish in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League qualification for the 2025/26 campaign.

That requires a minimum of four points from the next and final two matches of the season, with Bournemouth the visitors on Tuesday night before a visit to Craven Cottage to take on Fulham on the final weekend of the campaign.

Speaking to the media during his pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday night’s trip to face Manchester City, the Cherries’ boss Andoni Iraola was keen to celebrate the remarkable work of Kevin De Bruyne, but insisted that his side will not sit back and be ‘guests’.

“Kevin De Bruyne has been one of the best players of the last decade, I would say, not in the Premier League, overall in football, it’s a pleasure to be there in his last game at the Etihad,” Iraola insisted.

“But we want to be just not like the guests that you have there,” he added. “So someone has to be there in front and they play the game they want. No, we have to go with everything.

“We have to make them uncomfortable. But it’s obvious, whatever happens, we will be the first ones to congratulate him for everything he has done. And I’m sure it’s going to be a great, great night for him.”

Manchester City come into the fixture against Bournemouth in far from ideal form, having been held by Southampton in a 0-0 draw on the south coast in their last Premier League encounter, before losing the FA Cup Final.

It was a similar pattern of proceedings against Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium as a low defensive blow and blistering counter-attacks brought very little in the way of keys to unlocking the door from Guardiola’s side.

As such, a single moment of brilliance from Eberechi Eze proved to be the difference in West London and meant Manchester City endured their first season without a major trophy success since Pep Guardiola’s debut campaign at the club back in 2016/17.