Pep Guardiola coy on Kevin De Bruyne's Man City future | OneFootball

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has distanced himself from negotiations over Kevin De Bruyne's new contract, insisting that discussions are between the player and the club.

De Bruyne has been increasingly hampered by injury issues in recent years. The ageing Belgian sat out six weeks at the start of the season with a hamstring problem which has plagued him since he tore that muscle in the 2023 Champions League final.

Even when available, De Bruyne no longer remains a regular in Guardiola's starting lineups. The City boss dropped his longest-serving player for the decisive Champions League second leg against Real Madrid last week and has only handed him 12 starts from the club's first 26 top-flight games of the season.

The waning playmaker will become a free agent in the summer, but Guardiola has remained defiantly vague regarding a new extension for De Bruyne.

"He was and is - and hopefully will be - an exceptional player," the Catalan coach noted this week. "He will be 34 years old at the end of the season and he has to decide. What happens belongs to him and the club."

Kevin De Bruyne could be sliding his way out of Manchester City / Catherine Ivill - AMA/GettyImages

Guardiola insisted that he will not weigh in on these discussions. "Nothing will change our relationship. We know each other quite well, but I think in this situation he has to decide."

While the manager's specific position on De Bruyne has been vague, Guardiola recently warned City's core that he is only interested in players who are physically capable of playing every three days.

This stance prompted Guardiola to be asked whether the club needed to undergo a complete overhaul in the summer. "No," he replied. "We have done it already. After nine years, it is not the same team we started with nine years ago. We have done it two or three times already. It is not the biggest challenge."

There is only one player still at Manchester City who was at the club before Guardiola took over: Kevin De Bruyne.