De Bruyne awaited by frustrated Napoli colleagues after Conte outburst | OneFootball

Kevin De Bruyne will return to training with Napoli next week after his extended break following the 2026 World Cup, but reports in Italy suggest that an icy reception awaits the Belgian superstar as a result of the comments he made about former head coach Antonio Conte a few weeks ago.

Why De Bruyne is still a divisive figure at Napoli

De Bruyne has spent the last year in Naples having joined on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract with Manchester City. His new chapter in Italy began with four goals from his first eight Serie A appearances, but he would then go on to suffer a major hamstring injury that kept him out of action for around five months.

In the end, De Bruyne made 21 appearances across all competitions in 2025-26, ending with five goals and four assists to his name as Napoli finished second in Serie A behind Scudetto and Coppa Italia double winners Inter.

Conte, who had led Napoli to the 2024-25 Serie A title, decided to leave Napoli at the end of the 2025-26 campaign, and it is fair to say that De Bruyne was pleased to see him go.

PISA, ITALY – MAY 17: Antonio Conte manager of SSC Napoli celebrates the victory after during the Serie A match between Pisa SC and SSC Napoli at Arena Garibaldi on May 17, 2026 in Pisa, Italy. (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

“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,” De Bruyne said in an interview at the end of May.

When asked if he was pleased to see Conte leave Napoli, De Bruyne added: “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.”

These comments have put De Bruyne’s future with Napoli under doubt. Despite recent assurances from sporting director Giovanni Manna that De Bruyne remains under contract and that he is still ‘part of the project’, there is still an overall feeling that De Bruyne showed a level of disrespect to his former boss and his current employers with his explosive interview in May.

COMO, ITALY – MAY 02: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli looks on during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on May 02, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“I did not appreciate some of his words, but there’s no problem,” said Manna in a recent interview. “Kevin doesn’t have to decide if he’s staying or leaving, he is part of the project and will put himself at the disposal of the coach, just like all the other players.”

Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo also appears to have sided with Manna. “I align myself with what the director said, in the sense that the coach should always be the one to decide how a team plays, we can’t be dependent on one player,” the Azzurri right-back said in a recent press conference (via La Gazzetta dello Sport).

New Napoli head coach Massimiliano Allegri, meanwhile, has avoided giving any concrete statements on De Bruyne’s future either way.

NAPLES, ITALY – APRIL 06: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli in action during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and AC Milan at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on April 06, 2026 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

La Gazzetta dello Sport suggests that De Bruyne will be greeted by a frosty audience when he does return to Napoli, and that the relationship between the club and the player never truly clicked.

Whether De Bruyne stays on with Napoli or decides to call it quits after one season remains to be seen.