Kevin De Bruyne to Liverpool wasn’t a transfer rumor that many people were expecting to crop up in 2025 yet here we are; one of the greatest midfielders of his generation is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and the prospect of him moving to Anfield on a short-term deal has been has emerged.
It remains to be seen just how much substance there is to the link, but judging by the online reaction to the speculation, most Reds fans are keen on the deal — provided the terms are appropriate.
De Bruyne is one of the Premier League‘s highest-paid players at City, and one assumes that he would have to take a significant pay cut to move to Merseyside, particularly considering Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have both just been handed bumper two-year extensions.
The length of the deal, too, would have to be a consideration. De Bruyne turns 34 next month and has struggled with injuries over the last couple of seasons, so a one-year deal might be the best bet.
If De Bruyne does end up at Liverpool, it’s unlikely that he’d be able to play week in, week out, in the way that Liverpool’s younger midfielders like Ryan Gravenberch are Alexis Mac Allister are expected to, but he would bring something else to the party.
While World Cup winner Mac Allister is hardly inexperienced, he does not have the same amount of years at the top level under his belt as De Bruyne, who has been one of the best players in the world for over a decade.
De Bruyne has played over 750 games in his senior career, winning countless trophies, and he would also go some way to filling any creative void that might be left when Trent Alexander-Arnold departs for Real Madrid.
(Image: 2025 Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA)
Some supporters will understandably have doubts due to De Bruyne’s age, but there are plenty of examples from recent times of top players enduring well into their 30s.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric is turning 40 this year; Cristiano Ronaldo, who is still banging in the goals for Portugal, is already 40; and Andrea Pirlo started in a the 2015 Champions League final in the same month he turned 36.
Karim Benzema was 34 when he won the Ballon d’Or in 2022, and Lionel Messi was 36 when he claimed the prestigious individual gong the following year. Honorable mentions, too, for Jamie Vardy and Antonio Di Natale, who were sharp shooters well into their late 30s.
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The Pirlo example is perhaps the most apt, considering the circumstances that surrounded his transfer from AC Milan to Juventus in 2011.
Pirlo was 32 when he swapped one Italian giant for another and he went on to win the Serie A Footballer of the Year award for three seasons in a row, winning the Scudetto in each of his four seasons in Turin.
If De Bruyne could have a fraction of that impact at Liverpool, he would be regarded as a resounding success.
