Kevin De Bruyne has expressed his satisfaction with Antonio Conte’s exit from Napoli, highlighting fundamental disagreements in their footballing philosophies. The Belgian midfielder stated, “We have very different visions of football. I’m happy he left.”
De Bruyne, who joined Napoli as a free agent last summer, saw his initial opportunity curtailed by a severe thigh injury in late October, which kept him sidelined until March. Throughout his time at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, he managed 21 competitive appearances, contributing five goals and four assists. However, a strong on-field connection with his coach never materialized.
Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, De Bruyne elaborated on the strained relationship with Conte. “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.”
The midfielder voiced his discontent with Conte’s often defensive tactical approach. “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…”
When directly asked about Conte’s departure, De Bruyne was forthright. “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. I found that a pity. Football needs to be enjoyable, and unfortunately, I found that aspect lacking. There’s no point beating around the bush, we have different visions of football. I never got to play in my position under Conte.”
Looking ahead, De Bruyne remains uncertain about his future at Napoli, even without Conte at the helm. “I still have a year left on my contract, but I want to talk about it. There was a lot of talk last year of how we’d play and what we would do, but none of it happened.”
Given that Massimiliano Allegri, known for an even more defensive style than Conte, is reportedly a top candidate to take over at Napoli, De Bruyne’s departure from the club appears increasingly likely.