With talks said to be ongoing between Manchester City and Wolfsburg over the $89 million arrival of Kevin de Bruyne ahead of the transfer deadline on Sept.1, a leading official from the Bundesliga club has revealed some of the finances involved.
[ MORE: Latest transfer news ]
After previously saying De Bruyne would not be leaving “at this point”, director of sport Klaus Allofs has revealed that Wolfsburg have finally decided to enter negotiations with City and when it comes to wages, they cannot compete with the Citizens. Not at all. Reports suggest that City have offered De Bruyne a salary of $11.5 million per year.
No deal is close to being confirmed, but following these comments it now seems like a matter of “if” not “when” De Bruyne, 24, signs for City.
“We had to take it seriously. Finally we decided to start negotiations with City,” Allofs said. “But the deal is not already done. So hopefully we will find an end on Thursday night or Friday morning.
“During Thursday, we have gone on with negotiations and we’ve got closer to each other. He’s had an astonishing, astonishing offer from City and we can’t compete with that. I would prefer to keep him, not to get the money. But the money now is really the issue because Kevin was qualified with Wolfsburg for the Champions League and he was a key player and took the next step.”
As for City, there is no word on any of the speculation surrounding De Bruyne and Manuel Pellegrini had this to say at his press conference ahead of Manchester City’s game against Watford this Saturday (Watch live 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via Live Extra).
“You must continue asking but the answer to the question is the same, I don’t talk about rumors,” Pellegrini said before adding. “Maybe you have other information to me.”
The information is starting to slot together and all points to one thing: De Bruyne’s move to City is edging ever close as the biggest transfer of this summer is coming to a conclusion. If he does arrive at the Etihad Stadium before next Tuesday, having Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero, David Silva and De Bruyne in the same attack is mind-blowing. De Bruyne recorded the most assists in Europe’s top five leagues last season (20) and after his poor showing at Chelsea which saw him sold to Wolfsburg in January 2014 for just under $30 million.
Just over 12 months later, De Bruyne is worth almost three times that amount and the attacker could come back to haunt Chelsea and Jose Mourinho in the race for the PL title this season.