Head to MLS or remain in the Premier League: What should Kevin De Bruyne do next?

Another week has passed since news of Kevin De Bruyne’s forthcoming departure from Manchester City broke, but the Belgian’s future remains just as uncertain as before.

Following his throw-back performance against Crystal Palace, spearheading City’s surge to a 5-2 win with a wicked free kick and yet another Premier League assist, it looked as if De Bruyne’s glorious swansong was off to a seamless start. But the atmosphere has soured in the weeks since, with the midfielder’s post-match comments after City’s 2-0 win at Everton on Saturday suggesting that the consensus on his upcoming exit was not as mutual as it first seemed.

“Obviously, the club took a decision,” said De Bruyne in the mixed zone at Goodison Park on Saturday. “I have not had any offer the whole year; they just made a decision. I was a bit surprised but I have to accept it.”

“Honestly, I still think I can perform at this level, like I’m showing. I like to compete, that’s what I feel, so I can’t say I want to quit.”

So many of City’s defining players in the modern era — from Sergio Aguero to Vincent Kompany to David Silva — have left on amicable terms, moving on outside of City’s competitive eyeline. But with De Bruyne’s obvious distaste at the way negotiations have been handled, his victory lap around the Premier League is starting to feel a little uncomfortable for City fans as they grapple with the idea of their greatest-ever creator wearing the shirt of another English club.

Could De Bruyne stay in the Premier League? Or is a move to MLS still on the cards? The Athletic profiles potential suitors to see where the Belgian might fit best.

Early last week, The Athletic reported that four MLS clubs — Inter Miami, Chicago Fire, DC United and one of the clubs in the City Football Group franchise, New York City FC — have expressed an interest in bringing De Bruyne across the Atlantic. 

As soon as MLS became a viable option for De Bruyne’s next step, the aggregators swiftly began photoshopping the Belgian into heron-pink kits.

This wasn’t just due to Miami’s holding of De Bruyne’s “discovery rights,” a term that’s essentially MLS’s mechanism to claim first dibs on a player and avoid a bidding war with another club in the league. They are, of course, the one team in MLS that has a squad boasting Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez, and have not shied away from this kind of superstar signing in the past.

Suarez was a vital high-calibre foil in the final third last season for Messi, but the Uruguayan has shown his age more obviously in his second year in MLS. Messi has adjusted by upping his shot volume to a team-leading 5.4 attempts per 90, nearly double the rate of any other Miami player who’s logged even 30 minutes. In a vacuum, De Bruyne’s creativity would be a welcome addition for Miami, presenting a dangerous alternative to Messi in the final third without altering the Argentinian’s current approach.

The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio spelled out the off-field issues that could prevent this team-up, but the on-field impact can’t be discounted either. The Miami manager, Javier Mascherano, is incredibly reliant on his esteemed ex-team-mates. Alba, Busquets and Suarez are Miami’s three leaders and are the only players to start each of the first eight MLS games.

Could De Bruyne join Inter Miami’s roster of star names? (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

The trade-off for leaning heavily on their discerning tactical eye and technical prowess is that none of them do much running these days. As such, the other six outfield players are asked to do much of the legwork defensively while decluttering their passing lanes in transition, offering off-ball alternatives and safety-valve options for recirculation. It’s a lot of thankless work, but at least over half the team is sharing the load.

De Bruyne is a lot of things at 33. He’s a world-class creator, a set-piece savant, and he’s still a man for the big moment. He is not, however, as tireless runner as he has been in the past, and having a fifth player with a reduced work rate will make it even harder for Miami not to be susceptible immediately after an opponent gets the ball.

So, yes, there’s a role for De Bruyne to play as Miami’s new chief creator and there are goals for him to claim too. But while they’re willing to spend big, the requisite tactical trade-off may be too rich for their blood.

Chicago Fire offers a more intriguing tactical fit for De Bruyne, whose 4-3-3 system under former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter has a ready-made spot for someone of his creative ability. With captain and hard-runner Kellyn Acosta happy to lock down a deeper midfield role, and with options in Brian Gutierrez and Mauricio Pineda to take the second spot, De Bruyne would likely be given freedom to roam from an attacking No 8 role, his defensive responsibilities covered by others.

There is movement up ahead, too, with former Lille winger Jonathan Bamba one of the division’s most energetic runners in behind. Through the middle, De Bruyne would have fellow Belgian Hugo Cuypers to look for, a bustling presence around the penalty area and the player who made the most runs into the box in MLS last season per SkillCorner.

As we can see from his shot map below, Cuypers thrives on penalty box service, taking high-quality shots at a healthy rate (around 2.7 per game). De Bruyne would not only help with direct crosses into the No 9, but those slide-rule passes through to wingers for cutbacks, too.

D.C. United can also offer a towering compatriot in the box, with Christian Benteke sitting on 28 MLS goals since the start of last season. They are coached by Troy Lesesne, who has kept the club’s tactical identity fairly fluid. Lesesne is well-regarded in most circles but by no means a veteran in MLS, and De Bruyne would surely have more influence tactically at D.C. than at any of his other suitors.

Of all the clubs in the running for De Bruyne, D.C. feels the least realistic from a financial point of view. The club has a hard-earned reputation for thrift, frequently perceived as one of the league’s cheapest sides. That label feels a little inaccurate these days, as United have finally started spending on players in recent years. That has not exactly paid off: D.C. have failed to make the play-offs in five years.

Undeniably, D.C. are not as financially sound as Miami, or even Chicago, and they certainly don’t have the ownership muscle of City Football Group. Even former United captain Wayne Rooney — the club’s last massive name — came cheap, with D.C. paying below market value for a player with something to prove. Benteke, brought in by Rooney during his time as a manager, is the club’s most-expensive ever player. He makes about $4.5million a year, a far cry from what De Bruyne would probably command.

If anything, a shock move for De Bruyne makes sense for D.C. from a marketing perspective. The club have largely fallen into irrelevance and are actively pitching the local government on taxpayer-funded renovations to their stadium. A player of De Bruyne’s ilk may prove a valuable tool in proving to the District government — and long-suffering fans — that D.C. United are ready to reclaim their place as an elite side in MLS, something they haven’t been for nearly two decades.

Could De Bruyne team up with Benteke at D.C.? (Brien Aho/Getty Images)

Last but not least, NYCFC would be the one case where De Bruyne would be the obvious star attraction. The club, which is part of the broader City Football Group, has previously welcomed players directly from their Mancunian partners, including Frank Lampard and former loanee Yangel Herrera. De Bruyne would profile far more similarly at this stage of his career to the former, whose rough first entry into MLS was eventually made up for with some timely goals and a clear desire to raise the team’s level.

At this point, New York City could use a lot of help. After surprising in Nick Cushing’s final season, the start of the Pascal Jansen era has largely been a mixed bag. NYCFC have won three of their first nine games under the former AZ and Ferencvaros coach, leaving them outside of the Eastern Conference’s play-off places.

Stylistically, Jansen seems to want his team to take a more measured approach. Their direct attacks and shot volume from set pieces have decreased compared with Cushing’s version in 2024, leading to a 1.2 shot-per-game decrease year-over-year. The rest of their underlying attacking numbers follow a similar theme: fewer through balls to break lines, fewer touches in the opponents’ box despite taking more touches in general than last year, fewer chances created, and fewer take-ons when in possession.

An optimistic spin would be that De Bruyne would have ample opportunity to wrestle creative control of this side and enjoy a bounty of chances that the team otherwise wouldn’t create. More realistically, it seems that New York City is looking to prioritise slower build-up as an on-ball extension of their defence, leaving opponents with less time on the ball without sacrificing defensive structure when possession changes hands.

The pragmatism doesn’t exactly suit MLS’s calling card — that players can enjoy being in a league with a more open approach and a lower quality of defending. Combined with NYCFC clearly undergoing a rebuild and a lack of star supporting cast members — their only designated player on the roster, Thiago Martins, is a centre-back — and this may be the most curious fit for De Bruyne beyond the shared ownership group.

(Michael Regan/Getty Images)

A move to MLS would be a lucrative one for De Bruyne, but with ambitions to continue competing in Europe, along with a young family to consider, a less disruptive geographical switch shouldn’t be ruled out.

“I’m open for anything, anything”, said De Bruyne on the weekend, “I have to look at the whole picture.”

“I’ve been here so long, my family has been here 10 years; my kids were born in Manchester and have lived their whole lives here. I want to enjoy and play good football. I’ll be fine, if I can play football and my family is happy — I’m good!”

In that regard, an early look through the Premier League for suitable parties could be worthwhile. De Bruyne himself has used data to his advantage in the past, teaming up with an analytics company to negotiate an improved contract at City, and might well return to the numbers in search of his next club.

(Carl Recine/Getty Images)

De Bruyne’s relentless creativity in the final third has thrived over the years Manchester, at the heart of a team that can control the ball close to goal, with dangerous runs angled towards goal from talented attacking players. The 33-year-old should have no shortage of interested clubs and will likely have the luxury of choosing a similarly dominant club.

Particularly effective when he can drop into deeper areas down the right and send whipped crosses into the danger area, De Bruyne will be looking for a team who are dynamic and positive with their movement around the box. As the graph below illustrates, using data from SkillCorner, champions-in-waiting Liverpool have been the division’s busiest team around the penalty area this season.

A move to fierce title rivals of old would not go down too well at his current employers, but at least the De Bruyne family would not have to completely uproot.

Tottenham also emerge as an intriguing option as the team who have made the most runs into the penalty area that were not eventually targeted with a pass.

De Bruyne’s keen eye for an incisive forward ball would certainly solve that issue, with marauding full-back Pedro Porro and the dangerous Dejan Kulusevski working to create space for the Belgian to do his best work from those deep crossing positions. The only question that remains is for which manager a Tottenham-bound De Bruyne would be plying his trade.

Football moves quickly, and by the time De Bruyne makes his decision, Premier League teams could look quite different to those he could be weighing up now. Some more positive performances, like his game-changing display against Palace, and City may even be convinced that a fit-and-firing De Bruyne, playing without pain for the first time in up to six weeks, can offer enough short-term gain to soften their stance.

De Bruyne is convinced he still has more to give and, while his legs may tire quicker than before, his competitive spirit undeniably remains.

Provide him with team-mates on a similar wavelength — positive, inventive, and willing to make the kind of movements that only his pinpoint passing can pick out — and he will be happy once again.

(Header photo: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

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