Manchester City announce post-match activities for Kevin De Bruyne farewell against Bournemouth | OneFootball

Post-match activities at the Etihad Stadium have now been outlined by the club for Kevin De Bruyne’s final home match of his Manchester City career.

The legendary Belgium international will be ending his time at the club this summer after spending all of the last 10 years in Sky Blue providing some of the most memorable moments in Manchester City’s long-standing history.

It goes without saying that if it was not for the exemplary performances and goal contribution outputs of the attacking midfielder, then Manchester City would certainly not have been as successful as they have been under manager Pep Guardiola.

But following a hugely disappointing season across the board for City, the time has come for significant change and tough decisions to be made in terms of playing personnel, and that has started with the decision not to renew the 33-year-old’s contract beyond the end of June.

Unfortunately for De Bruyne and City, neither were able to end his time at the club with an FA Cup Final success last weekend as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Wembley Stadium, but there remains plenty of work to be done in the Premier League.

With just two matches remaining in the top-flight, City know they must take a minimum of four points to guarantee their position in next season’s UEFA Champions League via a top-five finish in the division.

One of those matches will see Bournemouth visit the Etihad Stadium, in a contest that will also mark an emotional evening for Kevin De Bruyne and his family, with the match being his final home game for the club.

As confirmed by Manchester City this week, a post-match presentation for De Bruyne will take place after the full-time whistle against Andoni Iraola’s side at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

The presentation will include a series of activities with a guard of honour from management, staff and players, ahead of the Belgian legend being presented onto the pitch, where fans will hear from the club captain himself with a showcase of his best moments from the last 10 years.

Following the presentation for the club’s iconic number 17, the full Manchester City squad will then do a lap of the Etihad Stadium pitch to say a final thank you to all the fans for their support across the course of the season.

Additional reporting from MailSport’s Jack Gaughan also reveals De Bruyne will receive a lifetime season ticket presented by the family of legend Colin Bell, signed keepsakes, a send-off on the pitch with a lightshow, before plans for lasting immortalisations are announced.

While the emotion remains ongoing throughout Manchester City’s supporter base and perhaps in the dressing room concerning De Bruyne’s pending exit from the club, behind-the-scenes there is an intense chase for a suitable replacement.

This week saw City officials formally withdraw interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz despite the Germany international firmly identified as the number one candidate to replace De Bruyne.

However, following talks between the player and Etihad bosses as well as Pep Guardiola, there was a growing concern within the Etihad Stadium that the finances involved in a prospective deal were reaching worrying heights close to €300 million.

As such, Manchester City will now turn their attentions elsewhere with a number of names remaining linked to the club including Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders, and Barcelona’s Dani Olmo.