Napoli President leaves De Bruyne decision to Allegri but warns: ‘Plenty of footballers out there’ | OneFootball

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis says that it will be up to Napoli’s next head coach to decide what to do with Kevin De Bruyne, who said that he was ‘happy’ to see Antonio Conte leave the club, but has warned the Belgian that ‘there are plenty of footballers in the world’.

De Bruyne joined Napoli on a free transfer at the end of his 10-year spell with Manchester City in the Premier League last summer, and though there was much excitement for the Belgian’s arrival in Serie A, he suffered a serious hamstring injury in mid-October, which kept him out of action until March.

In the end, De Bruyne was only fit enough for 18 Serie A appearances in 2025-26, but even in that time, he did not enjoy the style of football that he and his teammates were being made to play under Conte.

When asked in a recent interview whether he was ‘happy’ to see Conte leaving the club at the end of the 2025-26 season, De Bruyne said: “For me, yes. As far as I am concerned, he was not obliged to stay. There were promises made last summer on the way that we would be playing, but at the end of the day not much of it happened.

“Obviously it was difficult for me because Conte has a very different vision of football to mine. In truth, I never had the opportunity to play in my preferred position. In any case, I always tried to give my all for the team.

“We played very defensively. If you try to win every game by a one-goal margin with a 4-5-1 formation, you play a certain type of football. At the start of the season, we sat back even deeper.

“Our centre-forward scored just 10 goals, so you know the statistics are not going to be great…”

NAPLES, ITALY – OCTOBER 25: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli battles for possession with Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and FC Internazionale at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on October 25, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

What happens next for De Bruyne and what does De Laurentiis make of it?

De Bruyne’s statements have led to speculation over his future in Naples. Conte has now left, but he is set to be replaced by Massimiliano Allegri, who is famed for his defensive-minded approach which might not please the six-time Premier League winner.

It also remains to be seen whether De Bruyne will face any form of punishment from his employers given the disruptive statements he made about the departing Conte, who had won Napoli their fourth ever Serie A title the year prior.

De Laurentiis, speaking at a press conference on Thursday, insisted that it will be down to Napoli’s next head coach (widely expected to be Allegri, even though De Laurentiis couldn’t name him for legal reasons), to decide what to do with De Bruyne.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis arrives for the screening of the film “Freaks Out” presented in competition on September 8, 2021 during the 78th Venice Film Festival at Venice Lido. (Photo by Marco BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

De Laurentiis has not closed the door to De Bruyne, but warns that ‘if someone has to leave, they will leave’ and that ‘there are plenty of footballers in the world’.

“They (De Bruyne and Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini) have made statements that are either acceptable or unacceptable depending on your point of view,” said De Laurentiis.

“We’ll see what happens when we all get back to work. We’ll see what the new coach thinks of it. If someone has to leave, they will leave. What’s the problem? There are plenty of footballers in the world.”