"He wanted to leave" - Jose Mourinho shares details behind Kevin de Bruyne's Chelsea departure
Jose Mourinho recently claimed that he wanted to keep Kevin de Bruyne at Chelsea but the Belgian forced a move away. He claimed that the club's plans to loan him out were also squashed as he wanted to give the midfielder a chance in his team.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, Mourinho stated that he was surprised when De Bruyne pushed for the move after he was benched for the UEFA Super Cup game against Bayern Munich. The Portuguese football manager went on to add that he did not want to keep a player who was not willing to fight for his place.
“The club wanted to send De Bruyne on loan to a German club but I said no, I want him with me," Mourinho said. "He stayed with me and he starts the Premier League playing in the starting XI. After that game, we played European Super Cup in Prague against Bayern and he didn’t play that game.
"The next day he wants to leave. When you keep on wanting to leave, when you are at Chelsea, go and another one comes."
Kevin de Bruyne was sold to Wolfsburg, where he shot to fame before moving to Manchester City. He has been a vital part of the Cityzen's starting XI since joining them and has won the Premier League five times and the UEFA Champions League once.
"It was over" - When Kevin de Bruyne admitted he forced a move away from Chelsea
Kevin de Bruyne spoke about his exit from Chelsea to Het Nieuwsblad in 2021 and confirmed that his mind was set on Borussia Dortmund. However, the Blues were unwilling to sell but never got a chance to prove himself.
He said via Daily Mirror:
"They [Chelsea] really wanted to keep me and give me a chance but I actually wanted to go to Dortmund [but that move didn't materialise]. I had a good feeling about that - and I always decide by feeling. I did play a bit at Chelsea, but away at Swindon in the cup… that was really dramatic. I hadn’t played for a month and then you have to play against a League 2 club like that. After that, it was over."
"I never went to Jose Mourinho. I trained hard; I showed enough. But it’s a football myth that if you train well, you get chance. That is not true," he added.
Kevin de Bruyne played just nine matches for Chelsea and assisted once, but failed to score a goal for them.