Jamie Carragher believes Manchester City have made the right decision by letting Kevin De Bruyne leave the club this summer.
De Bruyne, 33, confirmed last month that he will be moving on from City at the end of the season, bringing to an end his 10-year stay at the Etihad.
The six-time Premier League winner has since revealed City did not offer him a contract extension, making it a simple call for him to head towards the exit door.
The Belgian midfielder scored the winning goal in City’s 1-0 win over Wolves on Friday night as Pep Guardiola’s side strengthened their grip on a Champions League spot, and Carragher was impressed by his performance. However, the ex-Liverpool man feels City had to let De Bruyne go due to not being able to justify his wages following his fitness issues in recent seasons.
‘He’s one of the highest paid players in world football, (but) he’s been injured a lot in the last two years so it’s hard to justify for Manchester City from a business point of view to give him a new contract,’ Carragher explained on Sky Sports.
‘At a club like this you couldn’t afford to have someone on those type of wages not playing every week. That should be for one of your star players.
Kevin De Bruyne scored Man City’s winning goal against Wolves on Friday night
But the Belgian midfielder is still set to leave the club at the end of the season
Jamie Carragher thinks City are right to let De Bruyne go as they cannot justify his wages if he is not going to play every week
‘He’s still a star player but he’s not going to play every week, he’s probably going to play 20-25 games a season. Man City as a business couldn’t justify that.’
Carragher’s fellow pundit Micah Richards suggested De Bruyne is still ‘good enough’ to play for City or another top club.
De Bruyne has been heavily linked with a move to the US or Saudi Arabia when he leaves City, but has indicated that he still feels he has plenty to offer at the highest level.
And now Carragher expects De Bruyne to stick around in Europe rather than heading to the Middle East or Stateside for a lucrative contract.
‘I think what’s interesting from his comments, is he doesn’t think he’s finished at the top level,’ Carragher said.
‘It’s not going to be Manchester City, but in my head I thought he was going to MLS or Saudi. It doesn’t sound like that’s going to happen.
‘He still thinks he can play next year, the season after at the top level of European football.’
