Kevin De Bruyne has revealed an intervention from Jose Mourinho stopped him signing for Jurgen Klopp in the summer of 2013.
Advertisement
De Bruyne lines up for Manchester City against Klopp’s Liverpool on Saturday Night Football as English football’s second-most expensive player following a £54.5m move from Wolfsburg.
The manager said at his pre-match press conference: “I played [them] with Dortmund twice and never lost!”
“I try to understand everything but of course I cannot understand everything and I can’t accept everything they do, but that’s normal”.
“I think Klopp is a good trainer”, he said.
“When I speak to my England colleagues they enjoyed their time under Brendan (Rodgers) and now they’re enjoying it under the new manager”.
The Belgian striker was a transfer target for Klopp during the manager’s spell with Borussia Dortmund following his debut campaign in the Premier League.
De Bruyne added that he does not feel the pressure of his price tag, and is happy that he has been able to make an impact in the rise of Manuel Pellegrini’s men to the top of the Premier League.
The winger is likely to be the target of boos from the travelling fans after his acrimonious big money move from Anfield to Manchester over the summer, though the Chilean coach has expressed his confidence that the player has the mental strength to block this out and focus on the task at hand. “I looked at what the club had won, how many leagues, how many Champions Leagues”. So that’s good. It doesn’t bother me. I am in a team with a lot of people who earn a lot of money and who were bought for a lot of money.
Advertisement
“If I see someone I think is in a better position than me it is better for me to give the ball. It was important for me (to learn) because I wanted to know where I was going”. “If you don’t enjoy your job, you don’t have fun”.
