Saudi Arabian clubs 'learn asking price of Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne'

The 32-year-old is the Citizens' longest-serving player within Pep Guardiola's current squad having spent the last eight years at the Etihad Stadium, where he has established himself as one of the club's greatest-ever players.

De Bruyne has scored 96 goals and registered 153 assists in 358 appearances for Man City, and has also won a total of 14 trophies including five Premier League titles and the Champions League.

The Belgian international, who is currently sidelined with a long-term hamstring injury, is due to see his contract at the Etihad expire in June 2025, and there are allegedly no guarantees that Man City will opt to extend his deal.

Such rumours have sparked speculation about a possible exit for De Bruyne from the treble winners, with a number of clubs in Saudi Arabia believed to hold a strong interest in the playmaker.

According to Football Insider, De Bruyne is regarded as a 'serious target' for Saudi Pro League clubs in the summer of 2024 and they intend to step up their pursuit in the near future.

The report adds that De Bruyne is happy at Man City, but could be persuaded to leave the club if the finances offered by Saudi clubs are considered too good to turn down.

Man City have no intention of parting ways with De Bruyne in January when the midfielder could return from injury, but they could entertain offers in excess of £50m for the Belgian next summer.

De Bruyne is one of the latest elite players that has been linked with a big-money move to the Middle East along with Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah, who was allegedly the subject of a rejected £150m offer by the Reds in the summer.

Since Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr in January, a host of high-profile names have swapped European football for the Saudi Pro League, and the league intends to lure more players to the Middle East in the coming years.

A whopping £784m was spent by Saudi Pro League clubs during the summer transfer window, with 87% splashed out by quartet Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, who are all controlled by the nation's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Neymar was the most-expensive transfer made by a Saudi club, with Al-Hilal forking out around £86m on the Brazilian from Paris Saint-Germain, while the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, Aymeric Laporte, Jordan Henderson, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Fabinho, Ruben Neves and Edouard Mendy also made the summer move to the Middle East.

It remains to be seen whether Guardiola would be willing to part ways with De Bruyne next summer, having lost a number of star players in recent years, with Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan two that left the club last summer.

Links regarding a possible exit for De Bruyne come at a time when Man City allegedly hold an interest in Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala, with Guardiola said to be pushing to sign the Germany international.