Manchester City’s midfielder, Kevin De Bruyne, is completely devoted to his football career and hasn’t given much thought to retirement.
In a conversation with Rio Ferdinand, a TNT Sports expert and former Manchester United defender, the 32-year-old discussed City’s upcoming Premier League match against Everton, which will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ this Saturday.
De Bruyne has recently recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in August and seamlessly reintegrated himself into the team’s midfield.
After spending close to ten years with City, securing five Premier League championships, two FA Cups, and triumphing in the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League, he admitted that retirement has not crossed his mind.
“I’m fully focused on football,” De Bruyne said. “I’ve not really thought about what happens after. Obviously, you think about situations; you speak to your wife to your family. But I’ve got 18 months left on my contract, I’m happy.
“It’s easy for me to focus on football, and as long as I feel good and feel happy, then there’s nothing really to think about. But we’ll see what happens.”
Numerous former football players have found success in coaching and management roles. Notable examples include Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, Xabi Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, and Pep Guardiola, who currently manages De Bruyne.
However, De Bruyne himself seems unsure about pursuing a similar path, even though he has obtained a coaching license in Belgium.
“I don’t know,” he said. “My wife thinks yes. I’m not too sure. I think she has maybe a better view of what I’m good at than that myself.
“I took my coaching degree with Belgium. I must say, when I trained the Under-15s at City for 10 training sessions, I quite enjoyed it.
“But being a coach for a first team, at a team like City, is a different prospect. I’m not quite sure yet if that’s a good idea for me, but we’ll see in the future. Maybe.”
De Bruyne shared with Ferdinand his desire for how he would like to be remembered once he decides to retire.
“I hope that people enjoy the way that I play football,” he said. “I think I play football the way that I live my life – straightforward, to the point.
“I’m not a dribbler or something, I think people can enjoy my football from a different view than other people. I think I’m quite a positive player in the way that I play, and if you like me you like me, if you don’t you don’t, I’m okay with that.
“But I think I’ve brought some joy to some people in the world. Maybe I can be an example for that, but I can’t really change people’s opinions and I’m okay with that also.”
