Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has opened up on the ‘strange’ conversation he had with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea that led to his exit.
De Bruyne, who has become one of the most sought after midfielders in the world, joined Manchester City in 2015 following an incredible loan spell at Wolfsburg – where he won the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Super Cup.
The 29-year-old has since remained a crucial cog in City’s Machine, having propelled the club to winning slew of domestic titles and emerge as one of the best side in Europe under Spanish manager Pep Guardiola.
However, the Belgium international in a chat with SkySports, recalled that his time at Chelsea was seemingly the lowest point of his glittering career in the wake of a ‘strange’ discussion he had with Mourinho.
“There was so much in the press about my relationship with Jose Mourinho,” the Belgian said.
“But the truth is that I only ever spoke to him twice. The plan was always for me to go on loan for a bit.
“Jose called me into his office in December, and it was probably the second big life-changing moment for me. He had some papers in front of him, and he said, ‘One assist. Zero goals. Ten recoveries.
“It took me a minute to understand what he was doing. Then he started reading the stats of the other attacking forwards – Willian, Oscar, [Juan] Mata, [Andre] Schurrle. And it’s like – five goals, 10 assists, whatever.
“Jose was just kind of waiting for me to say something, and finally I said, ‘But some of these guys have played 15, 20 games. I’ve only played three. So it’s going to be different, no?’
“It was so strange. I was completely honest. I said, ‘I feel like the club doesn’t really want me here. I want to play football. I’d rather you sell me.’
“I decided to go away because I felt I didn’t have any chances of playing at the time. I didn’t see more opportunities coming so for me, it was the best decision to leave Chelsea and go to a situation where I felt I could start again.
“Did I expect it to go this way? Obviously not, because at that time it was a low point in my career but I never had any doubt in my abilities as a football player.
“I can’t think what is going to happen eight years down the line playing for City, in World Cups and all that stuff. It’s wonderful.”
