De Bruyne will link up with former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte as well as former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay and former Chelsea star Billy Gilmour. De Bruyne was the subject of interest from clubs in the Premier League, Germany and MLS but in the end decided that the Italian champions was his ideal destination.
The 33-year-old made 422 appearances for City, scoring 108 goals and registering 170 assists and leaves as a club legend who was instrumental in the club’s most successful period in history. Napoli announced the signing of the Belgian international on Thursday afternoon with a cgi picture of him on a throne with the caption: "King Kev is here".
De Bruyne will join Conte’s side as they fight to defend their league title as well as the Champions League next season which may have tempted him to join the side more than anything else. City announced they will build a statue of De Bruyne outside the Etihad after he waved goodbye to fans in his goodbye ceremony.
“It’s been unbelievable to have the 10 years that I had with everything that happened here. It’s been an unbelievable ride and an absolute pleasure,” De Bruyne reflected.
“It was a joy working really hard to try and help create something that brought the Club the success we enjoyed. I’m super proud to have played a part in that.
“Manchester has been my home and my family’s home for these past 10 years.
“Everybody pushed me so hard inside and outside the club to be the best version of myself. They made me so much better than I was before.
“And the City fans were so welcoming from the beginning and to have had a full stadium supporting me and family (was) indescribable.
“Thank you very much.”