What happened on the beginnings of Kevin de Bruyne for Napoli

Kevin de Bruyne made his long-awaited debut for Napoli on Tuesday afternoon while they were colliding in Serie C side Arezzo, although it was hardly the most memorable performances on the side of Antonio Conte.

The 33 -year -old midfielder has made his emotional farewell to Manchester City this summer after 10 years of trophy.

From Bruyne, who won six Premier League titles in City, as well as five championship cups, two FA cups and a Champions League, was strongly linked to a move to Saudi Arabia, and even engaged in “serious” and “positive” talks to join Neom SC.

But the Belgian has chosen to continue his career in Europe with champions in the title of Serie a Napoli, which allowed De Bruyne to train with the emblematic No. 10 of Diego Maradona in recent days.

Asked about the port of Maradona’s issue, he said: “I would say that I was a little surprised at the beginning. Because I obviously know that the number was withdrawn. But in another way, it is an honor of the team and the club to give me this responsibility.”

It was a whirlwind of a few days for De Bruyne, but he and the rest of his teammates were brought back to earth on Tuesday when they started their 2025/26 campaign with a 2-0 surprise defeat against the third level Arezzo team.

De Bruyne was appointed in the programming of tale for the confrontation of pre-season alongside the compatriots of beginners Noa Lang and Lorenzo Lucca, and combined Alessandro Zanoli on several occasions, flamboyant twice.

A match report from the Italian release AIM commented the display of De Bruyne because they described a first half characterized by “a slow rhythm” and “some remarkable collective pieces”.

They added: “The Belgian has always found a way to carry out the load as best he could, finally adapt to a game that was still far from being fluid and needed additional tests to return to the levels we know. In short, there is a lot of time to see what is better.”

Here is how fans on social networks reacted to the first defeat of Napoli of pre-season.

One said: “Not the best starts for Kevin de Bruyne”, while another commented: “Anyway, I’m here to confirm that we cannot play football without Scott MCTOMINAY.” A third added: “Not the start of Bruyne sought.”

De Bruyne opens with the reality of being a free agent after the departure of Manchester City

Speaking in a recent interview, the 34 -year -old man gave a fascinating overview of what it was to be without a club.

“This is the first time that I have made a situation where I was (a) free (agent)-I have always had a contract,” he said, according to Athletics. “So it was always easy for me (before). Every summer, I was simply easy. I was good.

“The more the season (2024-25) went with nothing, it was a little stressful, because it is very new situation.

“But obviously, Napoli came, other teams came, and they presented their projects, and then I think there was a lot of difference in the projects. It was a lifestyle, it was competitiveness, all the different types (of considerations).

“And the Napoli project for me was all around the best option for me. Because obviously, I think that the essential is competitiveness (club).

“But obviously, the lifestyle, the sun – it’s very different from what I was telling myself, but I’m still a football player, I’m very competitive, and I think I’m still able to play at a good level.

“So, as long as I play football, I want to get the most out of myself. And once a day, I think I’m not able to do it, and maybe I make another decision, but now we are 34 years old, I always think that I am able to get a good level on myself, and I’m here to prove that I can do it.”