Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski refused to accept offers from Saudi Arabia during the January transfer window.
It was reported that the Saudi Pro League showed interest in signing Kevin De Bruyne, but the Belgian made it known to them that he only wanted to remain at Manchester City in a bid to win more silverware.
De Bruyne’s last contract extension was in 2021, when he signed a five-year deal to continue playing for the 2022–23 Champions League winners.
He has two years left on his contract. Although there is no guarantee that when his contract expires, Manchester City will consider renewing it due to his injuries.
He lasted for only 23 minutes in Manchester City’s first Premier League match in the 2023–24 season against Burnley on August 11, 2023.
De Bruyne’s return date has been predicted to be January 2024, which means the Manchester City side will be without the Belgian playmaker until next year.
De Bruyne’s absence has did little to Manchester City’s firepower in the Premier League. The Cityzens have continued on their prolific run without the Belgian.
In his absence, players like Julian Alvarez and Erling Haaland have led Manchester City’s brilliant run.
On the other hand, Lewandowski, who had been Barcelona’s main striker, wanted to stay at the Nou Camp to continue his club career.
The Polish striker scored 23 La Liga goals in his first season and secured Barcelona’s first league title since 2019.
His current deal runs until 2026. However, the Polish striker may consider leaving Catalonia if his recent performance does not improve.
The striker had scored two goals and created an assist in four La Liga matches.
Big names in Europe have left for the Middle East, joining Saudi Arabia’s Pro League big spenders like Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, and Al-Nassr.
The likes of Neymar Jr., Karim Benzema, Fabinho, Sadio Mane, Ngolo Kante, and many more had left Europe for the riches of Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabia Pro League tend to be ambitious when it comes to signing players.
Al-Ittihad were intending on tempting Mohamed Salah with a huge salary structure and other benefits to make him move to the Middle East.
However, Liverpool failed to accept the world record bid which is more than £200 million due to the fact that they were not ready to lose a player of Mohamed Salah’s caliber.
When the January transfer window reopens, Saudi Arabia will come back to Europe to pick their best stars with tempting salaries in a bid to make their own league on a similar level with that of the Champions League and the Premier League.
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