Paul Merson’s ‘pathetically overpriced’ verdict on De Bruyne looks hilariously wrong now
As Kevin de Bruyne announces his imminent departure from Manchester City, we’ve looked back at the reaction to his first arrival and it doesn’t bode well for Paul Merson.
The Belgian midfielder will leave Manchester in the summer after 10 years at the club but there was a time when he was deemed to be an “overpriced” signing for the club.
City paid £51m to acquire De Bruyne from Wolfsburg and it did not take long for some pundits to wonder why they had paid so much for a Chelsea reject.
One of those pundits was Sky’s Merson who said that both De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling were “pathetically overpriced.”
“I like the signing of Fabian Delph, but I think Raheem Sterling and Kevin De Bruyne are pathetically overpriced. They have spent £54.5m on De Bruyne – and he’s a player they don’t really need.
“That position wasn’t on their hit-list and now someone like Samir Nasri isn’t going to get a game, which is phenomenal for me. They have bought well, but I am going to give them a B- for the money they have had to pay.”
In fairness to Merson, Delph did become quite the utility player for City but the Nasri shout in particular looks a bad one with the Frenchman leaving in the summer of 2017.
De Bruyne though has proved to be worth every penny that City paid, scoring 106 goals and assisting 174 in over 400 games for the club.
More than just his goals though, the Belgian has been a pivotal figure in the City side that won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, five League Cups and the 2022-23 Champions League.
In 2022, he came third in the Ballon d’Or running behind Sadio Mane and Karim Benzema.
MORE ON MANCHESTER CITY ON F365
👉 Man City accuse Premier League ‘of distorting the competition in favour of Arsenal’
👉 Influential figure at Tottenham ‘key factor’ in pursuit of Guardiola with Man City exit possible
👉 Man United vs Man City prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
It seems silly now but the fee paid by City was a major talking point in 2015, so much so that then boss Manuel Pellegrini had to defend the signing.
“Maybe at the beginning everyone will talk about the price,” he said. “At the end, it’s part of the game for the player to demonstrate why we brought him here.
“There can be cheap players who play very well and maybe expensive players who don’t do so well. I am sure with Kevin De Bruyne at the end of the season no one will remember how much we paid for him.
“It is not the best way to arrive, to go to his national squad. But, in his position, it is more easy maybe to settle in our team.”
