Manchester City boss reveals staggering De Bruyne release clause

Pep Guardiola has revealed any admirers of Kevin De Bruyne will have to match the £223m release clause in his current Manchester City deal.

City spent £55m to prise De Bruyne away from Wolfsburg in 2015, making him their club-record signing at the time.

The Belgium international has developed into one of the best players in the world since then and is an indispensible player to City.

De Bruyne is currently sidelined with a serious knee injury but has recently been touted with moves to Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Guardiola, however, has no intention of selling the 27-year-old and alluded to his breathtaking release clause.

“He’s very good,” Guardiola told Universo Valdano, via The Daily Mirror. “He’s a very dynamic player. “[Leeds manager] Marcelo Bielsa told me he was his favourite player.

“He does everything. The other day, I met his parents and you often understand how the children are when you know the parents.

“He’s an incredible boy. The clause is €250m. I’m sorry, he’s not for sale.”

De Bruyne avoided the need for surgery after suffering a freak knee injury in training but will still miss most of the first half of the season.

Of Premier League players that made more than 25 appearances last season, De Bruyne (7.80) garnered the highest WhoScored rating, while also registering the most assists in Europe’s top five leagues (16).