De Bruyne signs for Napoli after leaving Man City
Belgium midfielder De Bruyne has reportedly signed a two-year deal with an option for a third at Napoli, where he will join up with international teammate Romelu Lukaku and former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay.
The 33-year-old left City at the end of this past season after a trophy-packed decade in Manchester, where under Pepe Guardiola he won six Premier League titles and in 2023 the Champions League.
He has however suffered from a series of physical problems in recent seasons, with two hamstring injuries causing him to miss significant chunks of the last two campaigns.
Napoli have brought in one of Europe's top midfielders as the Italians try to bolster a squad which next season will defend the Scudetto while also having the extra fixture pressure of the expanded Champions League.
Antonio Conte's Napoli beat Inter Milan to the Serie A title on the final day of the season, their second league crown in three years.
But they had no European football clogging up their calendar, unlike Inter who got to the Champions League final only to be thumped 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Lassana Diarra seeks 65 mn euros from FIFA and Belgian FA in transfer case
Diarra's challenge to FIFA prompted world football's governing body to amend its transfer rules after a landmark legal ruling last year, but he has been unable to reach a settlement. His lawyer Martin Hissel said the claim was for "compensation for damage caused by FIFA rules" on transfers, which the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled to be contrary to European law last October. "Following a ruling by the CJEU, in the absence of an amicable solution, it is natural to return to the national courts so that they can implement the CJEU ruling," Hissel said in a statement. "That is what we are doing today, on the basis of a very clear ruling by the CJEU, which has settled all the essential legal points. The Belgian courts should deliver their decisions within 12 to 15 months." The CJEU in October found that FIFA rules impede the free movement of players by "imposing considerable legal risks, unforeseeable and potentially very high financial risks as well as major sporting risks on those players and clubs wishing to employ them", thereby disrupting the transfer system. At the request of the Belgian courts, the Luxembourg-based CJEU examined the case brought by Diarra, who 10 years ago had contested the conditions of his departure from Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow. In August 2014, Lokomotiv Moscow terminated Diarra's contract citing contractual breaches by the player. The Russian side also sought 20 million euros compensation from him. 'Culture of contempt' Diarra refused and requested that Lokomotiv pay him compensation, but the now 40-year-old was eventually ordered to pay his former club 10 million euros by FIFA, a fine that was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Diarra also received a backdated 15-month suspension. As a result, Belgian club Charleroi ultimately decided not to sign the midfielder for fear of having to pay part of these penalties, in accordance with FIFA regulations examined by the CJEU. Following the CJEU's ruling, FIFA announced last December it had adopted an "interim regulatory framework" regarding player transfers. "I waited a few months before restarting the national proceedings in Belgium, thinking that, particularly following the efforts of FIFPRO Europe (the European players' union), FIFA and the Belgian football association would at least have the decency to contact me to propose an amicable settlement of the dispute (this was, in fact, the tone of the messages I received from FIFA)," said Diarra in a statement. "This was not the case. It is their right, but it reflects a persistent culture of contempt for the rule of law and for players, despite the very clear message sent by the CJEU. "To my great regret, we will therefore once again have to go before the judges, as I have no other choice." Capped 34 times by France, Diarra also played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Portsmouth and Real Madrid before ending his career at Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
France 24
13 hours ago
- France 24
PSG make winning start in Ligue 1 against Nantes
Sport 04:51 Reading time 1 min PSG began the defence of their Ligue 1 title with a 1-0 victory at Nantes. Vitinha scored the only goal of the match 25 minutes from the final whistle with a deflected shot from outside the box. In other matches, Brest and Lille played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, with Lille striker Olivier Giroud opening the scoring as he returned to Ligue 1 after a 13-year absence. In the Premier League, Arsenal won the opening-day showdown against Manchester United thanks to Riccardo Calafiori's first-half header. In tennis, Iga Swiatek will face Jasmine Paolini in the final of the Cincinnati Open. In MotoGP, Marc Marquez won the Austrian Grand Prix for the first time.
France 24
19 hours ago
- France 24
PSG get Ligue 1 title defence off to winning start
The Portuguese midfielder's effort midway through the second half beat goalkeeper Anthony Lopes with the aid of a wicked deflection off Nantes defender Chidozie Awaziem to break the deadlock. PSG were made to work hard for their victory as coach Luis Enrique made seven changes to his starting line-up following the UEFA Super Cup win on penalties against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek. That was the first game of the new campaign for last season's Champions League winners, who only began pre-season training on August 6 having gone all the way to the Club World Cup final in the United States in mid-July. They did not play any friendly matches prior to that and are therefore likely to require several weeks before getting close to the level at which they performed last season. However, they still had enough against a hard-working but punchless Nantes side, playing a first competitive match under new Portuguese coach Luis Castro. "I am very happy because the first objective in these matches is the victory and I think we deserved the three points," Luis Enrique said. "We were in control throughout, playing away from home. In the first half we didn't create much but that is normal because it is difficult against a team defending so deep." Asked about his team's lack of preparation for the start of the new season, the Spanish coach added: "Today we saw that our players are ready and wanted to show the level they can perform at. "They all need time which I think is normal but we will look more comfortable with the ball once we have a few more games under our belts." Ukraine defender Illia Zabarnyi played 90 minutes on his PSG debut after arriving at the start of the week from Bournemouth in a reported 66 million-euro (£57m, $76.7m) deal. Lucas Chevalier also started with the new arrival from Lille having immediately taken over from Gianluigi Donnarumma as PSG's first-choice goalkeeper. Zabarnyi debut, Giroud goal "The physical and technical abilities of Zabarnyi are perfect for the style of football I like," Luis Enrique said. "He is comfortable on the ball which is important for us, and without the ball he usually wins his duels. I think he played very well." The likes of Ousmane Dembele, Achraf Hakimi, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia all started the game on the bench but the substitutes played a part in the goal which came on 67 minutes. Dembele played a corner from the PSG left short to Mendes and his square pass was controlled by Vitinha before the playmaker fired in. "At the moment with the physical condition of the team it is important to have players who can come on towards the end of games in an optimal condition," said Luis Enrique. "That happened in the last game against Tottenham too," he added. Goncalo Ramos, who hit the bar in the first half, had an effort disallowed for offside late on, before Bradley Barcola clipped a shot just wide as one goal proved enough. PSG's next game will be at home to Angers next Friday evening. Elsewhere on Sunday, France's 2018 World Cup-winning striker Olivier Giroud scored his first goal for Lille in their 3-3 draw at Brest. "It is a real pleasure to be back in Ligue 1," said Giroud, who left Montpellier after helping them win the title in 2012 and has spent the last 13 years abroad featuring for Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan and Los Angeles FC. Angers beat newly-promoted Paris FC 1-0 with Esteban Lepaul scoring the only goal early on and the hosts holding on despite playing most of the second half down to 10 men. Strasbourg were 1-0 winners at Metz thanks to a late strike by Argentine summer signing Joaquin Panichelli.
