De Bruyne’s exit creates Club World Cup uncertainty and Postecoglou the ‘lone voice’ on VAR: football – live
Kevin De Bruyne to leave Manchester City
The 33-year-old Belgian midfielder, arguably one of the greatest and most influential players to grace the English top flight, has posted a message on X announcing that he will leave Manchester City after a decade at the club when his contract expires at the end of the season.
“Seeing this, you probably realise where this is heading,” it reads. “So I’ll get straight to it and let you all know that these will be my final months as a Manchester City player. Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here – and you deserve to hear it from me first.
“Football led me to all of you – and to this city. Chasing my dream, not knowing this period would change my life. This City. This club. These people… gave me EVERYTHING. I had no choice but to give EVERYTHING back! And guess what – we won everything.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s time to say goodbye. Suri, Rome, Mason, Michele, and I are beyond grateful for what this place has meant to our family. ‘Manchester’ will forever be on our kids’ passports – and more importantly, in each of our hearts. This will always be our HOME.
“We cannot thank the city, club, staff, teammates, friends, and family enough for this 10-year ride. Every story comes to an end, but this has definitely been the best chapter. Let’s enjoy these last moments together!
“Much love, KDB.”
Key events
Virtually the final word to Ange Postecoglou, who said the following about his seemingly ever-worsening relationship with Tottenham fans:
“At times it oversteps. When it oversteps, I am not going to stand for it, because I’m a bit old school like that … but they have every right [to protest] … I still can’t get away from the fact we have got a massive opportunity for ourselves between now and the end of the season … irrespective of how fans feel about me, I just hope the fans get behind the players and the team in those games, because they can make a huge difference.”
Here, in chronological order, are the football pieces we’ve published today thus far:
What does the Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner make of German media, in particular, linking him with the RB Leipzig manager’s job?
“I’m very happy [at Crystal Palace] but I’m not happy with all the stories. I told you I don’t read all these stories.
“But my Mum messaged me and said – ‘I have to read so much, I don’t know where to start and where to end’. She can’t sleep anymore.
“I said come on, you’re in your 70s, and it’s not worth to read all this stuff. So nothing to tell from my side. The only guy I was talking to in the last weeks was [Crystal Palace chairman] Steve Parish. I don’t really recognise it, because I don’t read all the things.”
Also, replying to a question about VAR, Glasner declared: “I am a friend of justice, and that’s why I am a friend of VAR.”
Ed Aarons
When Fabian Hürzeler called Oliver Glasner a few days after his appointment by Brighton last June, he found the Crystal Palace manager was only too happy to offer a few pointers about life in the Premier League. “He is very helpful and open-minded,” Hürzeler later said. “He is a role model, I think, in how he acts and how humble and grounded he is.”
Although Glasner and Hürzeler were managers in Germany at the same time at Eintracht Frankfurt and St Pauli respectively, they worked in different divisions and had not come face to face until Ismaïla Sarr scored twice in a 3-1 Palace victory at the Amex in December. The Austrian had warned his Brighton counterpart in one of their frequent chats that their friendship would be put aside for the afternoon as arch-rival clubs met in the fixture some outsiders have taken to referring to as the “A23 derby”.
His Majesty’s Premier League have only gone and edited together two minutes of De Bruyne assists.
“Delicious whip,” as Peter Drury correctly states.
Barry Glendenning is here with Football Daily:
“Obviously there are so many great memories of de Bruyne in blue over the last decade, but my favorite is Manchester City 5-1 Wolves 1, KdB 4 (May 11, 2022),” writes Kyron. “The game opened with a pretty standard de Bruyne goal in the seventh minute: a low shot across the keeper to the far right corner. But then, Wolves tied the match with a shot from the top of the box – a goal that only happens because Kevin loses his man, the scorer [Leander] Dendoncker, while watching the ball carrier take it in before crossing it back to the top of the box.
“You can actually see the switch flip in Kevin’s head as Wolves celebrate. Whenever I watch the highlights, I’m reminded of the line from The Usual Suspects: “Then he showed these men of will what will really was.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen one player set out to dominate the other team AND THEN DO IT the way Kevin did after that moment. To quote the commentator after he scored his third, “Stop it, Kevin, stop it! I’m running out of superlatives for you!””
Don’t forget, England Women are in Nations League action tonight. They meet Belgium at Ashton Gate, kicking off at 8pm … I’ll be bringing you the MBM.
Tom Garry previews the action here:
If you missed it earlier, this is what the Everton manager David Moyes said about that tackle by James Tarkowski:
“He made what I thought, at the time, was a really good tackle. Looking at it again, it was a bit reckless.”
“Is there a match that better capture’s De Bruyne’s talents than his return for City against Newcastle last year?” writes David Wall. “If I remember correctly he came off the bench with City 2-1 behind and soon scored the equaliser by passing the ball into the bottom corner from about 20-25 yards out.
“Not content with that he conjured the winner in stoppage time with a pass from midway in Newcastle’s half to Oscar Bobb standing around the edge of the six-yard box that was biblical in its precision (in that it would have been easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for the ball to get through the gap De Bruyne played it).
“Guardiola reacted on the touchline like someone who had just had brilliant magic trick played on him and couldn’t understand how it had been done. Oh, and Bobb’s finish was quite nice too. I’m not a City fan but I will be sad when De Bruyne is no longer creating the highest of Premier League highlights every week.”
Crikey, you’re not wrong. I was away at the time and hadn’t seen either this sublime De Bruyne finish or ludicrous assist.
“The problem with running a modern top-flight football club is that raising revenue is hard to do. Once you’ve grabbed your slice of league-wide media rights, made a vaguely colonial-sounding pre-season tour of the “Far East,” stitched up some sponsorship deals with a gambling company or a country’s tourism agency, and shipped as many shirts as the global merch market can handle, you hit the ceiling of your earning capacity. At that point, as a club, what do you do?”
Thanks David. I saw De Bruyne at Selhurst Park last season and (despite apparently being in decline) he completely bossed it. Physically he looked strong too.
De Bruyne’s performance that day prompted Pep to say more nice things.
“The numbers, presence, consistency have been amazing … He is one of the best players in the history of Man City. The goals, assists, the lot. What can I say? The first goal is unbelievable and so is the assist for Erling [Haaland].”
I also saw De Bruyne in the Champions League final in Istanbul in 2023 although he had a less obvious impact in a tight affair. Player of the match then, for me, was Francesco Acerbi who more or less marked Haaland out of the game.
“I was lucky enough to see De Bruyne play just once,” emails David. “A Chelsea-supporting friend invited me to a game against City at Stamford Bridge a few years ago. I know it sounds like a cliche, but it genuinely looked like De Bruyne was operating on a different level to every other player on the pitch that afternoon. It reminded me of the first time I saw Patrick Vieira at Highbury and thought, ‘Ok, this guy is something else.’ Out of the countless hours of football I’ve watched, it’s moments like those that really stick with you.”
Time to recap on the De Bruyne love-in. Here is some of what Pep Guardiola, Manchester City manager, said earlier after the Belgium international announced his intention to leave the club this summer:
“His assists, his goals, his vision in the final third is so hard to replace,” Guardiola said. “How many years, how many games? It makes him unique. Any person can discuss that his performance has been outstanding.
“He is part of the club … the doors are open to him for the rest of his life. He’s part of the family of this club. The impact of some players transcend what they do on the pitch, and Kevin is one of them.
“Apart from holidays, days off, every single day we were together … now it’s going to be over? Come on … We are going to enjoy the last two months here together. But emotionally it’s tough, it’s difficult.
“It’s immaculate, what he’s done on and off the pitch, and this we will remember forever.”
Will there be De Bruyne a statue at Manchester City? “I don’t know,” Guardiola said. “But I’d bet a lot of money that it’s going to happen.”
Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé and Antonio Rüdiger have been fined for misconduct after their Champions League win over Atlético Madrid and handed one-game bans, suspended for a year, leaving them free to play against Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Rüdiger was fined €40,000 while Mbappe was fined €30,000. However, their one-match suspensions are “not immediately enforced” and are subject to a probationary period of one year, Uefa said on Friday.
Uefa had opened an investigation into a possible breach of disciplinary regulations against the duo as well as Dani Ceballos and Vinícius Jr. after Real Madrid knocked out derby rivals Atlético on penalties.
The players celebrated in front of the fans and video footage showed them dancing and making gestures towards the Atlético supporters, who responded by throwing objects. Ceballos was also fined €20,000 while no disciplinary proceedings were opened against Vinícius.
Arsenal host Real Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-final on Tuesday, with the second leg on April 16. (Reuters)
Leaders Celtic meet St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. Brendan Rodgers just had a chat with Sky Sports News, firstly about the 3-0 win against Hearts last Saturday.
“We scored three excellent goals against a Hearts team who have been doing well,” says the former Liverpool gaffer. “But we need to keep the concentration at same level, and take that into this game.”
The goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who has a shoulder injury, was expected to be out for five or six weeks. But Rodgers thinks he may leave the medics baffled by coming back sooner.
“Medically they’ve said he should be back for the Cup final,” Rodgers said. “That’s what we are told from the scans. He could be back earlier than that … but that’s the timeline we’ve been given. He can still manoeuvre and work technically, but working with his hands and diving, not yet.
“He’s rarely been injured in his career so it’s a new experience … but he’s a real leader, and it’s great to have him on the training pitch with us,” says Rodgers.
Now, what’s all this about the SPL changing in size?
“I certainly wouldn’t want it to be smaller,” says Rodgers. “I think ideally, for me, if you could increase it it would be better … there’s financial ramifications and the number of games you would play. My general feeling is it doesn’t need to be smaller.
Three wins will secure the title for Celtic…
“It’s day on day,” insists Rodgers. “The weather we’ve had can make you feel relaxed, but in fairness the players have been brilliant. They are really focused. The finish line is there. But it’s there in the distance. Concentrate each day, work hard and take that into each game.”
Sport’s highest court said Friday it will hold fast-track appeals next month as Mexican soccer club León tries to overturn a Fifa decision to expel it from the Club World Cup in the United States.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) said León and its sibling club Pachuca have separately filed appeals against a Fifa ruling last month that barred León from the Club World Cup because the clubs have the same owner.
What a free-kick that is from the Swedish third tier, by the way.
The Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca will be without Wesley Fofana and Roméo Lavia for Sunday’s trip to Brentford, as injuries continue to hamper his side’s efforts to finish in the top four. Both players featured regularly for Maresca early in the season, but their progress has been interrupted by injuries.
Chelsea moved fourth after Thursday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. French defender Fofana, 24, recently returned from an extended period on the sidelines due to a muscle injury but only played two league matches before being left out of the squad against Spurs.
“Fofana had a muscle problem a few days ago and we are waiting for more checks,” Maresca said.
Lavia has played only two Premier League games since early December and recently suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Maresca confirmed that Lavia will not play against Brentford.
“No, for Sunday, he is out. We don’t know yet how long he will be unavailable for,” he said. “We are waiting for both. Roméo looks a little bit better injury compared to Wes (Fofana), in terms of probably Romeo can be back earlier than Wes.”
Despite having played only 13 matches in all competitions for Chelsea this season, Maresca says the 21-year-old Belgian midfielder is central to the club’s plans.
“If you compare Romeo’s games this season to last season, he’s already improved,” Maresca said. “Because this season it was difficult to go the other way. But the target with Romeo is just to try to keep him fit as much as we can. The next year he’ll play more games than this season.” (Reuters)
KDB is off, I hear. Good little player wasn’t he? Or a good medium-to-large sized player. Email me with your top De Bruyne memories.
Thank you for that heartfelt handover, Will. I did spend a delightful morning at Lord’s watching Middlesex v Lancashire before diverting to the subterranean live blogging cave. Swings and roundabouts, but not much swing for the Lancashire bowlers after the strange decision to insert their hosts in north London. Enjoy the sunshine. Anyway, football!
Right, that’s it from me. While I get out and enjoy the sunshine, spare a thought for Luke McLaughlin, who is now having to descend into the subterranean live blogging cave under the Guardian offices. Them’s the breaks. Over to you, Luke.
Leon Bailey faces a late fitness test before Aston Villa welcome Nottingham Forest in tomorrow’s late kick-off, while Ross Barkley could also return. “Bailey is getting better but we’ll check this afternoon how he’s progressing,” Unai Emery said. “Barkley is working with the team this week.
“We can feel happy because now we are recovering players and not getting players injured. I will decide this afternoon how the players are for the match tomorrow.”
Premier League clubs learn details of City legal challenge
In other Manchester City news, via PA Media, details of the club’s legal challenge to the Premier League’s updated rules on commercial deals have been shared with their top-flight rivals.
City launched arbitration proceedings on January 20 against the validity of the league’s amended associated party transaction (APT) rules, which seek to ensure deals struck between clubs and entities linked to their ownership are for fair market value.
The league is understood to have emailed clubs on Thursday to inform them of a statement of claim from City, which is dated March 27. The claim sets out the detail of City’s argument against the rules. The Times reports that it criticises the Premier League’s treatment of shareholder loans under the new APT rules, saying that it is “distorting economic competition” between clubs. The Times reports that the claim names Arsenal, Brighton, Everton and Leicester as clubs who have had an unfair advantage as a result of how shareholder loans have been treated.
The APT rules were originally introduced in December 2021, following the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle earlier that year. Those rules were successfully challenged by City last year, with a tribunal finding them unlawful on multiple grounds, including the fact that they excluded shareholder loans from fair market value assessments.
That led to the Premier League consulting with clubs on amendments to the rules, with 16 teams voting in favour of the amended rules at a meeting last November. City launched a challenge to those amended rules in January, with the statement of claim shared with clubs on Thursday linked to that challenge. City and the Premier League have declined to comment.
The intention of the rules is to prevent clubs inflating the value of sponsorship and other deals in order to artificially boost revenue, which would effectively increase a club’s spending power. City’s challenges to the APT rules sit separate to more than 100 charges the club face over alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules between 2009 and 2018, all of which they deny.
Amorim has also reserved some high praise for De Bruyne ahead of the Belgian’s last Manchester derby. “He was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League,” said the United manager. “The time passes to everyone so it is a natural thing. He improved the league.
“He was on the wrong side of Manchester so I wish him good luck. It was a pleasure to see him in Portugal a lot of times.”
We’ve got some more injury news coming through on the wireless, this time from Radio Old Trafford. Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo are back in contention for Manchester United, but Matthijs de Ligt is a doubt for Sunday’s Manchester derby. “[Mount] can start, but we have to manage his minutes still,” said Ruben Amorim of the England international, who has not started since December’s 2-1 win at the Etihad.
“I think Kobbie is returning to training, so we’ll see and assess for this game already. Of course, he cannot play a full game, he’s a long time without training. I think Matta [de Ligt] has an issue. He has something during the game [at Nottingham Forest] and we have to assess. I think the rest is normal.”
David Raya has also been doing the press rounds before Arsenal’s trip to Goodison Park. Unsurprisingly, he’s delighted that Bukayo Saka is on the comeback trail after his long injury layoff. “It’s so good to have Bukayo back and especially scoring after seven minutes [against Fulham in midweek] is incredible,” he said. “It’s what we wanted from him as well and I think for him it was what he needed to feel like he’s back and feel ready to go.”
Arteta says White and Timber may return at Everton
While the loss of Gabriel Magalhães until next season is a major setback for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta has some tentative good news regarding his other defensive injuries. “Ricky [Calafiori] is not fit, in the last week or so we lost four players, and that’s obviously a big task, but let’s see how Ben [White] and Jurriën [Timber] are for tomorrow [against Everton],” he said. “There is a chance [they might be available]. We’re going to have to decide this evening or tomorrow very early in the morning which players we can play and for how long.”
Arteta was also asked about De Bruyne and, given their time together at City, it was no surprise that the Arsenal manager was full of praise. “I rank him up there. He is one of the best players in the Premier League. [I’ve] never seen a player that can deliver that precisely at that high speed.”
Let’s have some more from Guardiola, shall we? Asked about De Bruyne’s greatest assets, he said: “His assists, his goals. His vision in the final third is so difficult to replace. Everyone can make actions and assists but how many years and how many games makes him unique.
“We have won a lot of trophies and he has been involved in every single one. He is part of the club. The door is open for the rest of his life at the club. He is part of the family of this club. The impact of some players transcend even the impact that they have done on the pitch and he is one of them.”
Other managers are starting to weigh in on De Bruyne’s impact on the Premier League. “I’m a little bit shocked,” said Thomas Frank, the Brentford manager, when told of the Belgian’s impending departure. “I can only praise him. One of the best midfielders in the Premier League ever. There’s a few good ones, but let’s say the more offensive central midfielders, let’s say [Frank] Lampard, [Steven] Gerrard, of course iconic England ones in the centre of the pitch, [David] Beckham … I think De Bruyne is up there. I think he is a top player, an almost complete player.”
Posting on Instagram, Jack Grealish has paid homage to De Bruyne. “One of the reasons I joined City was to play alongside you brother,” he wrote. “The best I’ve ever had the pleasure of playing with for sure. Legend!”
Elsewhere, the Matildas have secured a morale-boosting 1-0 win over South Korea in the buildup to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup. Here’s the report.
The De Bruyne tributes continue to pour in, including to my inbox. “Hello Will. KDB – what a player!” writes Krishna Moorthy. “It is not a coincidence that he is leaving at the same time that the fortunes of City are waning … Pep will follow in my opinion, as City without KDB will be like Barça without Messi for Pep.”
Guardiola hails De Bruyne as ‘one of the greatest’
Asked about De Bruyne’s legacy, Guardiola has ranked him among the best players to grace the Best League In The World™. “In the Premier League he is one of the greatest midfielders in this country and top of the club,” he said. “Great, if not the greatest. Always have respect for the players who play many roles and are incredible players to play 20 or 30 years in this club.”
