Kevin De Bruyne has cast doubt on his future at Napoli after publicly criticizing the tactical approach of former manager Antonio Conte.
The Belgian midfielder's comments, published by Nieuwsblad on May 31, 2026, have created an immediate hurdle for incoming manager Massimiliano Allegri, who wants to build his project around the playmaker.
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De Bruyne expressed deep dissatisfaction with how his role was utilized during the past season, despite maintaining his own physical performance levels.
"I found my level to be quite good at the start, and even when I returned from injury, I was at a decent level," De Bruyne said.
"It was obviously difficult for me because Conte has a very different vision of football to mine, let's not beat around the bush.
I was never truly able to play in my role. That's how it was.
But I always gave 100%."
The midfielder further targeted the specific formations and offensive statistics recorded by the team under Conte's leadership.
"We play very defensively. If you score one goal per match with a 5-4-1...
that's not much," he said. "At the start of the year, we played very deep indeed.
Our top scorer has 10 goals (Hojlund actually finished the league with 12, editor's note), so yes, the offensive statistics were certainly not thrilling, but in terms of quality and football, I found it quite acceptable."
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