DE BRUYNE JACKPOT
Midfield ace set to double money with mega deal at City
KEVIN DE BRUYNE is on the verge of signing a new six-year contract with Manchester City worth more than £200,000 a week.
De Bruyne (right) has been arguably the Premier League’s outstanding player this season, helping unbeaten City storm to the top of the table with six goals and eight assists.
The Belgian has four years left on the contract he signed after moving from Wolfsburg for £55million in 2015, but City want to replace it with a more lucrative long-term deal. De Bruyne, 26, currently earns a basic salary of £6m a year, which equates to £115,000 a week and up to £3.5m in potential bonuses.
Under the new deal, expected to be signed next month, the player’s wage will rise above £200,000 a week with substantial bonuses.
City face Leicester City in a Carabao Cup quarter-final at the King Power Stadium tonight and Foxes
manager Claude Puel says Pep Guardiola has raised his side to the level of his all-conquering Barcelona team.
Puel insists he has spotted areas of City’s game that can be exploited, but argues they are Europe’s best and operating at the same heights reached by Barca between 2008 and 2012.
Puel got first-hand experience of Guardiola’s team during the 200809 Champions League, when his Lyon side lost 6-3 on aggregate in the last 16.
He said: ‘It was the beginning of Pep’s managerial career. We drew at home, then away, phew, it was a fantastic game [Barcelona won 52]. The most impressive thing was when they lost the ball there was a reaction high up the pitch, with Messi etc.
‘Now Pep has found the good balance and the possibility to play with attacking players in the midfield, like [David] Silva or [Kevin] De Bruyne, because all the players have the same intention when they lose the ball. It is a long process, but it is fantastic to see.
‘It was a strong challenge to try the same thing in the Premier League, because last season sometimes they controlled the game with quality, then just one freekick, or one long kick and second ball and it was a goal.
‘It is difficult to play in the Premier League against all these teams.’
Puel will make changes to the Leicester team who lost 3-0 to Crystal Palace on Saturday but he is aiming for another run to the final in this competition, having lost narrowly to Manchester United with Southampton in February.
‘It is a cup match and the most important thing is the character of the players to give their best for each other,’ Puel said.
‘Then it is to try to have some options to exploit points about this team. There are not a lot of points and I want to keep them for me.’
Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police confirmed yesterday that they are investigating an alleged racially aggravated assault on Raheem Sterling outside City’s training ground.
The 23-year-old was allegedly racially abused and attacked as he arrived to prepare for the clash with Tottenham on Saturday.
Sportsmail understands that a complaint has now been made by the player, who went on to score twice in City’s 4-1 win, and police have opened an investigation.
City declined to comment but the club will support the probe and provide police with CCTV footage. The incident is said to have taken place at the entrance to the Etihad Campus, across the road from the Etihad Stadium.
It is understood that the England forward was kicked and branded a ‘n ***** ’ by a man who was waiting for him at the entrance to the training complex.
According to reports, Sterling pulled into the site in his car ahead of the game, at which point he was confronted by a man who is said to have hurled abuse at him.
Sterling is then said to have got out of his car to find out what the man’s problem was, only to be kicked in the leg.
A police spokesperson confirmed they had received a report and had launched an investigation, treating the incident as a hate crime.
Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion organisation, said last night: ‘We have been in contact with City to offer support to Raheem and the club. Verbal and physical assaults of a racist or discriminatory manner are completely unacceptable across football and society. Additional reporting: MIKE KEEGAN
and LAURIE WHITWELL