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Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City 2020-21Getty Images
Peter McVitie

De Bruyne explains how analytics influenced his decision to sign new Man City contract

K. De Bruyne
Manchester City
Premier League

The attacking midfielder took a look at the structure and direction of the team before he committed to a new deal

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Kevin De Bruyne has revealed he used an analytics company to decide if he should sign a new contract at Manchester City.

The Belgium star committed to a new deal with the Premier League side last month, extending his stay until 2025.

But the 29-year-old says he took an in-depth look at the direction Pep Guardiola's side are going before signing on the dotted line.

What has been said?

"Me and my people around me, we just wanted to reflect on how the team is looking forward for the future," De Bruyne told Sky Sports.

"So it was mostly based on how the team was set up for the future, comparing with other teams, based on age, contracts... Then how I was helping the team going forward.

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RBL

Champions League

04 Nov 2026

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MCI

"It was not really comparing all the things money-wise, it was just looking at how the team was set up and what is for me the best decision to make. Not that I really needed any help in that, it's more getting the confirmation of what I already thought. It was a nice analysis to look at."

The attacking midfielder had not shown much interest in statistics about performances before he saw the detailed picture about the structure of the City team. 

"I think sometimes, for me, statistics are a little bit too much. Especially as a midfield player, you can do so many good things that are not viewed on a stats sheet," he added.

"I know a lot of people are that way, in comparing people, but I don't really care. I did this stuff basically to look at team structure, team setup for the future.

"It's part of life now. It's way different to 10, 15 years ago when everything was just viewed by the eye and everybody did the eye test and that was it, 'he played good, he played not good' and that was it."

What next for Man City?

City are closing in on the Premier League title as they sit 13 points clear of Manchester United.

Guardiola's team will host Chelsea on Saturday in a rehearsal of the Champions League final, which will be played on May 29.

Victory against the Blues in Istanbul will see City secure a treble of trophies, having already won the Carabao Cup last month.

Further reading

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