Premier League

De Bruyne ‘Second-Best’ Passer After Messi, Says Guardiola

Pep Guardiola says Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is the “second-best” passer he has worked with – after Argentine great Lionel Messi.

Guardiola holds the departing Belgian in high esteem, ahead of the likes of other pass-masters he has managed such as Andres Iniesta and Xavi at Barcelona, and former City midfielder David Silva.

De Bruyne announced last month he will leave City after 10 years when his contract expires at the end of the season, with his final home game against Bournemouth on Tuesday (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Guardiola said it would be “difficult to find” another player who passed the ball like De Bruyne and hailed him as “one of the best three” he has ever seen, before swiftly changing his mind.

“One is Messi,” said Guardiola. “And the other two, let me think about it…OK, let me put Kevin second.”

He added: “Messi is the best I have ever seen because Messi has done it really, really close to the box but Kevin is there. It’s just the stats, the goals, the assists, that he provides to the team in the final third and the talent.

“That is unique, that is why he has been one of the best players this club has had in the whole history. These are big, big words because he has been a special player.”

Where could De Bruyne end up after Man City exit?

De Bruyne has won 16 trophies in 10 years at Manchester City

De Bruyne has won 16 trophies since joining from Bundesliga club Wolfsburg in 2015, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2023.

The Belgian has played 258 league games under Guardiola and registered 0.5 assists and created 3.6 chances per 90 minutes during that time – rating higher in both metrics than Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Silva.

His passing accuracy of 82.4% is lowest of the five players, but this can possibly be put down to playing riskier passes in the final third in an attempt to unlock defences.

With De Bruyne’s City days coming to a close, BBC Sport understands the club are withdrawing their initial interest in Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz but remain in the market for a new creative midfielder – with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White among the options.

Asked if De Bruyne will be difficult to replace, Guardiola said: “There are players who are really, really difficult for many reasons, we know that.

“But the season we have done is the season we have done – we cannot deny it. Of course we have to move forward.”

De Bruyne to receive farewell in last home game
Meanwhile, De Bruyne will receive a farewell from City after his final home game against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Guardiola did not confirm whether De Bruyne would start against the Cherries, saying: “Kevin will get what he deserves. That is the best compliment for his incredible trajectory.

“What he has done with other legends in the club, it would not have been possible since Sheikh Mansour took over the club to reach another level.”

The game will be his last at Etihad Stadium and he will be afforded a guard of honour from team-mates at coaches at full-time.

De Bruyne will give a short speech on the pitch and be presented with gifts by the wife and son of late club legend Colin Bell, before heading on a lap of appreciation with the other players.

The campaign ends with a trip to Fulham on Sunday (16:00 BST), which is likely to be De Bruyne’s last game for the club.

City compete in this summer’s Club World Cup in the USA, which starts on 14 June, but De Bruyne said he “probably” will not play in the tournament as injury could scupper plans to find a new club.

Bbc.com

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Premier League

Chelsea Player Asks To Leave After Fantastic Season

This feels like a never-ending season. Just a couple of weeks back, Chelsea secured a spot in the Champions League by winning away at Nottingham Forest and then won the UEFA Conference League final against Real Betis. Now, preparations are underway with the Club World Cup around the corner and Liam Delap has already been signed, while moves for Mike Maignan and Jamie Gittens failed.

Quite a few surprising names were left out of Chelsea’s Club World Cup squad. One that caused controversy was Djordje Petrovic, who is coming off an stellar campaign away on loan at Strasbourg.

Even last summer, a lot of Chelsea fans believed that Petrovic was the best goalkeeper that the club had. Those feelings have only been strengthened with his Player of the Season-winning campaign with Strasbourg.

But as reported by The Telegraph, it was Petrovic who asked to be omitted from the Chelsea squad to focus on a move. He wants to be a guaranteed starter, something that the Blues cannot offer. Should the Serbian goalie fail to secure a permanent move away that meets his demand, will rejoin the squad for pre-season training.

Chelsea player asks to leave after fantastic season
Unfortunately, despite his great performance on loan at Strasbourg, it does not look like Enzo Maresca views Petrovic as a starter. In that situation, an exit might be the best path forward for the Serbian.

At 25 years of age, he needs to be starting games on a regular basis. He might not get that chance at Chelsea, even though they don’t have a settled number one.

One has to wonder why Chelsea did not try to sign Caoimhin Kelleher this summer, who ended up at Bournemouth for a £12.5 million initial fee. He is a Premier League-proven goalkeeper and would have been a great addition to the Blues. But it looks like the club are more concerned about finding the next gem rather than signing ones readily available.

Theprideoflondon.com

Premier League

Gvardiol Named 2024/25 Etihad Player Of The Season

Josko Gvardiol has won your vote to be crowned the Etihad Player of the Season for 2024/25.

The Croatian beat both Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland to win the award in just his second season at the Club.

Thousands of City fans had their say, but it was Gvardiol who collected almost half of the votes in the final shortlist after progressing through to the last three.

The 23-year-old played 53 games across all competitions this season – more than anyone else in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

Splitting his duties across left-back and centre-back, Gvardiol has been vital to City ever since arriving at the Club in the summer of 2023.

He found the net five times in the Premier League, including a stunning right-footed curler at Wolves that was named our Nissan Goal of the Month for October.

There was also a goal in the successful FA Cup semi-final meeting with Nottingham Forest to further his credentials as one of the most prolific defenders in world football.

Towards the end of the term, Gvardiol struck up an excellent partnership with Ruben Dias at the heart of the defence as we pushed towards our third-placed Premier League finish and subsequent Champions League qualification.

It is the first time he has won the Etihad Player of the Season vote, following in the footsteps of Phil Foden and Erling Haaland in the last two campaigns.

Kevin De Bruyne has previously dominated the award, winning it four times and equalling the Club record with former defender Richard Dunne.

Now, Gvardiol and the entire City squad are preparing to head to the USA for this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup.

Everyone at Manchester City would like to congratulate Josko on this award!

Enter the competition below for your chance to win a shirt signed by Gvardiol himself!

Mancity.com

Premier League

Liverpool To Sign Wirtz For British Record Fee

Liverpool FC have agreed a British record transfer fee for German midfielder Florian Wirtz, with the starlet expected to join from Bayer Leverkusen in the coming days.

The German will join Liverpool for a Premier League record fee of €150m (£126m) after agreeing personal terms with the Premier League Champions weeks ago.

He will link up with former teammate Jeremie Frimpong, who also signed for the Reds just last week in a £30m swoop.

The 22-year-old is perhaps the best young forward available – an asset for Liverpool as the club gears up for the possibility of life without talisman Mohamed Salah in 2027.

Wirtz is considered one of the best attacking midfielders in world football after starring in Leverkusen’s Bundesliga title win in 2023-24, before scoring 16 goals and assisting 15 more in their most recent campaign.

The deal taking Wirtz to Liverpool is set to beat the current British record, currently held by Moises Caicedo’s £115m move to Chelsea. Liverpool have plenty of cash in the kitty after their title win, combined with very limited spending in the past three windows – only Federico Chiesa (£12m) and Giorgi Mamardashvili (£30m) joined the club since January 2024, with the latter yet to feature after spending last season on loan at Valencia. This allows Liverpool to push aggressively in the market this window.

Wirtz is reportedly on his way to Merseyside to complete his medical before an official announcement next week.

FC Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City were all interested in Wirtz but he expressed his preference to play for Liverpool – a refreshing contrast to Scouse fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold running down his contract to sign for Madrid.

What’s next for the Premier League champions? With a deal for Bournemouth’s Hungarian left back Milos Kerkez on the verge of completion, the Reds also hope to bolster both attacking and defensive depth ahead of the new season – though will likely have to offload players to free up any more funds.

Uruguayan forward Darwin Nunez is already halfway out the door, with the 25-year-old’s inconsistency in front of goal pushing Arne Slot to find a solution elsewhere. Also linked with an exit are Colombian winger Luis Diaz and Portuguese striker Diogo Jota, who could be sold for a combined €130m according to latest reports.

FC Barcelona are keen admirers of Diaz in particular, with reports suggesting they would be willing to cough up almost €80m for his services.

Despite winning the title by a considerable margin, Liverpool look set for a new-look squad to enter the new season. Headlined by statement signing Florian Wirtz, expectations are high.

Insideworldfootball.com