Kevin De Bruyne in no rush to sign new Manchester City deal as agent hints he should be paid the same as Neymar

The Belgian has been in sparkling form over the first two months of the season and delivered another masterful performance as City beat Napoli 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday

Andy Hampson
Wednesday 18 October 2017 05:50 EDT
Comments
Kevin de Bruyne has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season with City
Kevin de Bruyne has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season with City (AFP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Kevin De Bruyne is very happy at Manchester City and is in no rush to sign an improved contract.

The Belgian has been in sparkling form over the first two months of the season and delivered another masterful performance as City beat Napoli 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday. De Bruyne's agent Patrick De Koster has said he intends to begin discussions with City over improved terms in the coming months.

The outcome for De Bruyne, who is currently understood to be paid £115,000 per week on a contract that runs until 2021, could be a huge increase in wages. De Koster referenced PSG's latest big-money signings when he discussed the potential deal that he could seek.

"His salary? I cannot say. But if you think what Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are being paid, you can picture," he told Italian radio.

Neymar, signed for £200.6million from Barcelona in the summer, earns £500,000 per week in the French capital, while Mbappe is on £300,000. None of this, however, is of any immediate concern to De Bruyne.

"My agent went already one time to Txiki (Begiristain, director of football)," he said. "Talks are coming. I'm patient anyway, I don't stress. I think I read something in the press but I have time."

De Bruyne, who played a lead role in Saturday's 7-2 thrashing of Stoke, was again heavily influential as City claimed a hard-fought win over the Serie A leaders at the Etihad Stadium.

The victory, City's third in Group F, was set up in a dazzling opening half-hour. Raheem Sterling opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season after nine minutes and De Bruyne set up Gabriel Jesus for the second soon after.

De Bruyne then hit the bar and Jesus was denied a second on the line by defender Kalidou Koulibaly.


De Bruyne has been in sparkling form for City this season 

 De Bruyne has been in sparkling form for City this season 
 (Getty)

The rest of the contest was more evenly fought with Napoli awarded two penalties. Ederson saved the first from Dries Mertens but Amadou Diawara scored the second. Marek Hamsik had the best of a number of Napoli chances but John Stones managed to block him.

De Bruyne said: "The second half was more difficult. They were playing really good football. In the end it's a great result for us. We handled it quite well and we're very happy with the nine points."

The former Chelsea and Wolfsburg player continues to attract praise for his performances.

But he said: "I don't care. I have to do the things that I do. In football you are going to have highs and lows and you have to live in the middle. I just like to enjoy my football, that's a big part of me."

De Bruyne was also involved in a spat at half-time with team-mates Fernandinho and David Silva, who tried to prevent him speaking to the officials.

He said: "It happens. There's nothing wrong. After one minute, it's over. At home I get some arguments with my wife! I think it's normal, it's necessary."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in