City’s Abu Dhabi hierarchy want to reward De Bruyne for his development into one of the world’s best players by making him the club’s highest paid star – and fend off growing interest from the two Spanish giants by nailing down his long-term future.
The Belgium midfielder still has three and a half seasons left on the deal he signed following his £54million from Wolfsburg in 2015 but is understood to be close to agreeing new five-year contract worth around £200,000 a week basic – but with huge bonuses for winning the Champions League, Premier League and the Ballon D’Or.
De Bruyne, 26, rejected the chance to join a number of Europe’s top clubs, including Paris St Germain, when he joined City two and half years ago and has no regrets about moving to the Etihad where he has been a key figure for Pep Guardiola’s runaway Premier League leader and has seen his transfer value increase to around £150m.
“I always say in football that a lot of things can happen very quickly,” he said.
“But I’m very happy here and the people at the club know that.
“I’ve no feeling to go anywhere else and enjoy being part of the project here and playing the kind of football we are playing.
“The team is going in the right direction and that’s also important. I made the right decision coming to City and my family feels the same so everything is good.”
City are also lining up new deals for midfield anchor man Fernandinho, whose contract runs out this summer, and fellow Brazilian Gabriel Jesus.
