Izuchukwu Okosi
Italian Serie A champions Napoli on Thursday completed the free signing of Belgium captain Kevin de Bruyne.
The mercurial midfielder spent 10 illustrious years at the Etihad and won 19 trophies under manager Pep Guardiola.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelDe Bruyne, 33, will now work under former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte.
De Bruyne had arrived England from German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in 2015 albeit had a Premier League stint at Chelsea which did not go as planned.
Through their club website, Napoli announced the signing of De Bruyne with a creative computer-generated image of the player sitting on a throne wearing a crown, captained “King Kev is here.”
He arrived Italy early Thursday morning and underwent mandatory medicals at the club’s facility.
The Belgian helped the Cityzens to win six Premier League titles, five League Cups, two FA Cups and the club’s first UEFA Champions League title.
READ ALSO: Osimhen, Messi, Mbappe, Haaland, De Bruyne, 7 Others Named For FIFA The Best Award
The team completed the treble and became only the second team in England ever to achieve the feat after Arsenal in the 1988/1989 season.
De Bruyne’s last home game for the deposed champions in front of their adoring fans was against Bournemouth but his final boss on May 25 was against Fulham.
In a bid to plug the gap left by the creative space vacated by De Bruyne at the club, Manchester City have signed the duo of Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders.
“Its bed unbelievable to have the 10 years that I had with everything that happened here.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride and an absolute pleasure,” De Bruyne noted.
“It was a hot working really hard to try and help create something that brought the club the success we enjoyed. I’m super proud to have played a part in that.
“Manchester has been my home and my family’s home for these past 10 years.”
Other former Premier League midfielders currently at Napoli are Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
