Al Ittihad have reportedly cooled their interest in Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.
The midfielder has been heavily linked with a Saudi Pro League this summer after being identified as a player who would accelerate the growth of the competition, alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah and Ederson.
De Bruyne fuelled speculation further by hinting earlier this summer that the finances on offer in the Middle East would be hard to refuse at this stage in his career, though City appear to have prevented the midfielder from making the move this summer.
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According to Rudy Galetti, Al Ittihad have decided to ‘withdraw’ from the race to sign the ex-Wolfsburg star. The Saudi outfit believe that City’s price tag for the 33-year-old is ‘too high’ as they were hopeful of striking a cut-price deal to acquire his services.
De Bruyne is in the final year of his contract at the Etihad Stadium, which sparked belief in Saudi that he would be available for a reasonable fee.
However, City are not keen to part ways with their No. 17 and opted not to reduce their asking price for their skipper despite his contractual situation, prompting Al-Ittihad to review their pursuit and decide to strengthen in other departments.
If Al-Ittihad’s approach was successful, De Bruyne would have linked up with French trio N’Golo Kante, Moussa Diaby and Karim Benzema. Ex-Liverpool star Fabinho and former Arsenal target Houssem Aouar are expected to start the season in midfield alongside Kante next season.
With De Bruyne’s situation unresolved, it remains to be seen whether other Saudi Pro League clubs attempt to lure him to the Middle East as a free agent next summer. The midfielder is also expected to be the subject of interest from the MLS.
Speaking about the prospect of joining a Saudi side earlier this summer, he said: “He said: “At my age, you have to be open to everything. You're talking about incredible amounts of money in what may be the end of my career. Sometimes you have to think about that. If I play there [Saudi Arabia] for two years, I will be able to earn an incredible amount of money. Before that, I had to play football for 15 years.
“I may not even reach that amount yet. Then you have to think about what that could mean next. But at the moment I haven't had to think about that yet.”
