Liverpool’s reported interest in signing Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne as a free agent has come as a surprise, but there are in fact a number of reasons why the transfer would make a whole lot of sense — provided the financials work out.
De Bruyne believes he can continue to play at the very highest level, and has vowed that he will take a decision that suits his family; the chance to join Liverpool would allow De Bruyne, his wife, and their three children to remain in their Cheshire home.
As well as geographical reasons, there is also the fondness that De Bruyne has for Liverpool, which he has vocalized on a number of occasions. There is a famous clip of an 11-year-old De Bruyne declaring that Liverpool is his favorite club and Michael Owen is his favorite player. “I would love to play there one day,” he says.
As an adult, De Bruyne stopped short of saying he still wants to play for Liverpool, but he has made no secret of his admiration for the club over the years. In November 2019, ahead of a meeting between Liverpool and City at Anfield, De Bruyne waxed lyrical over the famous Anfield atmosphere created by Liverpool’s supporters.
“I like Anfield, I like it a lot,” De Bruyne said. “I love people being on you, being noisy, that is what it’s all about. I love the passion of football. Lately, a lot of new things have been introduced in football, but I still love things how they were in the old days – people shout and get their team forward.
“When Liverpool get that atmosphere, it gives them a nudge and for the other team, it gives a feeling of nervousness. As a team, you need to stay calm. That’s probably the most difficult and the most important thing. If you get nervous and anxious, they smell it. It’s kill or be killed at that time.”
That same year, he spoke of the mutual admiration between himself and then Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp, saying: “Me and Klopp have a good relationship, he wanted me at Dortmund at a time… I think I admire him, and he admires me so every time we see each other is always in a good note.”
(Image: Manchester City FC/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
Three years later, when the 2021-22 title race between Liverpool and City went to the final day of the season, he described the Reds’ team as “great”: “I feel like there are two teams fighting each other so much and both know what it takes to keep pushing and pushing and we are the only teams to have done that for the last five years.”
Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk and De Bruyne are good friends off the pitch, regularly vacationing together, and back in 2022 the Dutchman named De Bruyne as the one player he’d never played with but would love at Liverpool.
“I think he’s unbelievable. If he would have played at Liverpool we would have gone even further than we already have. I think he’s outstanding, good on the ball, pressing, scoring, he’s got everything as a modern-day midfielder and footballer in general. I think he’s an outstanding player.”
In 2023, De Bruyne returned the praise, describing Van Dijk as a “Rolls-Royce”. “He’s got everything,” De Bruyne told Sky Sports as he was given the task of choosing who he thought was the best defender out of Van Dijk, Thiago Silva and Lisandro Martinez. “I know him well: he’s got right foot, left foot, speed, height, he’s a leader. Thiago is also amazing, but I just think Virgil has got that little bit more.”
