Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis says that it will likely be as much as Napoli’s subsequent head coach to resolve what to do with Kevin De Bruyne, who stated that he was , however has warned the Belgian that ‘there are many footballers on the earth’.
De Bruyne joined Napoli on a free switch on the finish of his 10-year spell with within the Premier League final summer time, and although there was a lot pleasure for the Belgian’s arrival in Serie A, he suffered a critical hamstring harm in mid-October, which stored him out of motion till March.
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Ultimately, De Bruyne was solely match sufficient for 18 appearances in 2025-26, however even in that point, he didn’t benefit from the fashion of soccer that he and his teammates had been being made to play beneath Conte.
When requested in a latest interview whether or not he was ‘completely satisfied’ to see Conte leaving the membership on the finish of the 2025-26 season, De Bruyne stated: “For me, sure. So far as I’m involved, he was not obliged to remain. There have been guarantees made final summer time on the way in which that we’d be enjoying, however on the finish of the day not a lot of it occurred.
“Clearly it was troublesome for me as a result of Conte has a really completely different imaginative and prescient of soccer to mine. In fact, I by no means had the chance to play in my most well-liked place. In any case, I all the time tried to present my all for the workforce.
“We performed very defensively. When you attempt to win each recreation by a one-goal margin with a 4-5-1 formation, you play a sure sort of soccer. Initially of the season, we sat again even deeper.
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“Our centre-forward scored simply 10 targets, so you already know the statistics should not going to be nice…”
NAPLES, ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli battles for possession with Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale in the course of the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on October 25, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photograph by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Pictures)
What occurs subsequent for De Bruyne and what does De Laurentiis make of it?
De Bruyne’s statements have led to hypothesis over his future in Naples. Conte has now left, however he’s set to get replaced by Massimiliano Allegri, who’s famed for his defensive-minded method which could not please the six-time Premier League winner.
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It additionally stays to be seen whether or not De Bruyne will face any type of punishment from his employers given the disruptive statements he made concerning the departing Conte, who had gained Napoli their fourth ever Serie A title the 12 months prior.
De Laurentiis, , insisted that it will likely be right down to Napoli’s subsequent head coach (broadly anticipated to be Allegri, although De Laurentiis couldn’t title him for authorized causes), to resolve what to do with De Bruyne.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis arrives for the screening of the movie “Freaks Out” offered in competitors on September 8, 2021 in the course of the 78th Venice Movie Competition at Venice Lido. (Photograph by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photograph by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP through Getty Pictures)
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De Laurentiis has not closed the door to De Bruyne, however warns that ‘if somebody has to depart, they’ll depart’ and that ‘there are many footballers on the earth’.
“They (De Bruyne and ) have made statements which might be both acceptable or unacceptable relying in your viewpoint,” stated De Laurentiis.
“We’ll see what occurs after we all get again to work. We’ll see what the brand new coach thinks of it. If somebody has to depart, they’ll depart. What’s the issue? There are many footballers on the earth.”