Pep Guardiola relishing emotional Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane reunions after UEFA Champions League draw | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola is looking forward to welcoming former Manchester City pair Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane back to the Etihad Stadium in the upcoming UEFA Champions League campaign.

City kick off their UEFA Champions League group-stage campaign with a tricky test against Napoli at the Etihad Stadium on September 18, with City’s Kevin De Bruyne loss turning into the Italian champions’ gain earlier in the summer.

Bayer Leverkusen (H), Villarreal (A), Real Madrid (A), Bodo/Glimt (A), Galatasaray (H) and AS Monaco (A) make up the rest of the group-phase fixture list, which means Manchester City have it all to do to improve upon their disappointing Round of 16 finish in the competition last term.

A 6-2 defeat to Real Madrid over two legs saw Guardiola’s men crash out of the UEFA Champions League in February, with Kylian Mbappe putting the Blues to the sword with an incredible hat-trick in the return leg after Los Blancos’ last-gasp 3-2 triumph at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City suffered their first loss of the 2025-26 campaign against Tottenham last week, with an underwhelming showing serving as a brutal reality check to Guardiola and the board that it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world to rethink their current squad in the final days of the transfer window.

Following this week’s UEFA Champions League group-stage draw, Guardiola was asked to reflect on City’s fixtures and reunions with former Blues Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane, who have etched their names in the club’s history after their invaluable contributions to Manchester City’s success over the years.

Speaking in a press conference on Friday, the 54-year-old said: “Yeah, Kevin (De Bruyne), Leroy (Sane),” in a euphoric, reminiscent manner, with the pair having played instrumental roles in City’s success under Guardiola since 2017.

“I’m really pleased they (De Bruyne and Sane) come back here, and of course we have to beat the two teams in Napoli and Galatasaray, but it’s nice to bring them back and I’m pretty sure the people will give a great welcome to them because they deserve it!”

De Bruyne received a grand farewell at the Etihad Stadium after his final home appearance in a Manchester City shirt in May, with the 34-year-old coming to the end of his contract in June and club officials deciding against renewing the playmaker’s last deal. He went on to join Napoli on a two-year deal.

Sane returned to the Etihad Stadium with Bayern Munich in April 2023, with the 29-year-old also starting in the return leg of the German giants’ UEFA Champions League quarter-final defeat to Manchester City at the Allianz Arena.

In a brilliant tribute to their former player, a majority of the attending Manchester City fans applauded Sane when the attacker was warming up for Bayern Munich on the touchline at the Etihad Stadium, with the winger even drawing a series of crucial saves from Ederson in the second half of Bayern Munich’s 3-0 loss in the opening leg.

There is no doubt that De Bruyne will receive the best possible reception upon his return to the Etihad Stadium in a few weeks, with the Belgium international widely renowned as the greatest player in Manchester City history following a decorated 10-year spell at the club between 2015 and 2025.