Kevin De Bruyne’s Manchester City legacy is secure but his future looks uncertain

Kevin de Bruyne had a way of shrugging off the disappointment. Saturday could have finished with him lifting the FA Cup as Manchester City captain, a final trophy to add to a vast collection. “Yeah, okay. I could have won 20, I have 19 now,” he said. “It's alright, this doesn't change anything that's happened in the past 10 years. Of course I want to win, but I wanted to win last year also. There's things that happen and it's been amazing, so what can I say? It's mostly been really, really good moments, so that's life.”

That phlegmatic approach extended to the manner of his departure. City didn’t offer their greatest player a new contract, even if the last few weeks have shown he remains an astonishingly good passer of the ball, even if the tributes have flowed from Pep Guardiola and his teammates and even, before Saturday’s defeat to Crystal Palace, from the Prince of Wales. “The decision is what it is,” reflected De Bruyne. “Obviously it's not something that was nice at the moment, but I accept it and I move on. It's not the end of life.”

But it is the end of life at City. After a decade, he is in effect in the last week. After 420 games, there are only two more. In theory, De Bruyne could bow out at the Club World Cup, even if his contract expires part way through. Officially, no decision has been made. And yet it appears ever less likely De Bruyne will be facing Wydad AC in Philadelphia on 18 June or Al Ain in Atlanta or Juventus in Orlando; not when it would put his future at risk. “It doesn't make any sense, but I think that happens when you push in new tournaments in the middle of this contract situation. I think in a way I have to take care of myself because if I get injured in the Club World Cup, what am I going to do? Nobody's going to take care of me at that point. So there's a big chance probably I won't play it.”

A straight talker identified some of the flaws in Fifa’s thinking in dumping a club tournament into this time in the year. “It doesn't make any sense, but I'm just a player. I don't make the rules, I can't do anything about it,” he said.

And so this is it. De Bruyne’s last game could be at Fulham on Sunday. His farewell to the Etihad was always going to be Tuesday’s clash with Bournemouth. “I don't know how I'm going to feel,” he said. “It's going to be weird. I'm going to try and enjoy it.”

And after that? He is looking into the unknown. City’s decision to dispense the playmaker supreme has not gone unnoticed. De Bruyne still has admirers. “There are indeed options, but we'll see,” he said. There are very different alternatives. Chicago Fire are one, Napoli another. De Bruyne has begun his research. “There has been information sought regarding all things,” he said.

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They extend beyond tactics and training grounds. When he was injured last season, he returned to recall that he spent some of his time away doing the school run. He has always felt an ordinary figure with an extraordinary talent, the down-to-earth man who took City to new heights.

A reason why he had hoped to stay at City was simply that he is settled; and not just him. “Everything has to fall into place for my family and for myself,” he said. “When you're 20 years old and make a decision, it's easy. You can move to another country and it's not a problem. But I want to take the best decision. What is good for my kids, for my wife, school, living, all those things that you need to take and think about. I have to take care of my family. I've got three kids, my wife, it's not an easy process at this time.”

Seeing De Bruyne at Wembley, perhaps for the final time, was an illustration his abilities can belong on such a stage. Certainly he seems tempted to stay in the Premier League, to play at a high level. “Yeah, probably,” he said. “But it depends on all those factors.”

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He is a family man, with greater concerns than simply prestige. “I don't care about status,” he said. “I want to be happy and play good football. Status? What does it mean? Because that comes and goes. I just want to enjoy and still play some football in the future and status can come whenever I'm done and I can enjoy my life.”

De Bruyne isn’t done yet. But the football he plays in the future is unlikely to be in the Club World Cup. Beyond this week, it won’t be in a City shirt. And for the man who picked the right pass time and again, an altogether bigger decision awaits.