Napoli sign former Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne

Former Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has joined Serie A champions Napoli as a free agent on Thursday.

De Bruyne will play under former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte, who is currently the boss of Napoli.

De Bruyne refused an offer from Major League Soccer (MLS) club Chicago Fire favouring the Italian club, and he can now play in the Champions League next season.

De Bruyne served for ten years in City where he won 14 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League in 2023 after joining them from Wolfsburg in 2015.

He was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in both the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.

With 118 assists, De Bruyne ranks second on the Premier League’s all-time assist chart and has scored 106 goals in 413 appearances for City.

De Bruyne's contract at City expired at the end of the past season, and it was reported that the Premier League giants declined to offer him a contract extension.

Napoli, who won their second Serie A title in three years after a tight race with Inter Milan, announced the signing of the 33-year-old with an image of De Bruyne sitting on a throne wearing a crown, captioned "King Kev is here".

Napoli also posted on X, captioned "Kevin is proud to be one of us!".

The Belgium captain appeared in 40 matches for City in all competitions in the past season, in which he scored six goals and provided eight assists helping them qualify for next season's Champions League, after being sidelined by a thigh injury in September.

De Bruyne received an emotional farewell from teammates and manager Pep Guardiola in his last match at the Etihad Stadium against Bournemouth, which City won 3-1.