Man City boss Pep Guardiola has let slip that Kevin De Bruyne is potentially up for sale and all it would cost you is the entire GDP of a developing tropical island nation.
The Belgian midfielder is currently eight months into a vast six-year contract extension which, when signed in January, saw him elevated to City’s highest earner on wages potentially topping out beyond £300,000-a-week mark.
Still, while has Guardiola insisted that De Bryune is central to his long-term plans and is therefore not for sale, he also mentioned in passing that there is a release clause inserted into the small print of the 27-year-old’s mega-deal.
Indeed, any club anywhere in the world could open a transfer dialogue with De Bruyne with a bid of a just €250million – that’s one quarter of a De Brillion euros, or £223million in old money.
Speaking on Bein Sport, Guardiola is quoted as saying:
Kevin is an incredible boy. The clause is €250million. I’m sorry, he’s not for sale. He’s very good. He’s a very dynamic player.
De Bruyne does everything and everything well, but still has room to grow. I recently met his parents and understood a lot about why he is a fantastic guy.
Bargain. After all, how do you put a price on perfection?
Weirdly, you may care to note that when asked to extrapolate his comment at his City press conference on Friday, Guardiola played a different tune entirely.
Guardiola denies he has any knowledge of Kevin De Bruyne’s alleged €250m release clause, inserting he doesn’t think the Belgian has a release clause.
— City Watch (@City_Watch) 14 September 2018
Good grief. Who to believe? Thursday Pep or Friday Pep?
It’s a minefield out there.