World Football

Veteran midfielder Kevin De Bruyne announced Friday that he will depart Manchester City at the conclusion of the 2024-25 English Premier League season.

The 33-year-old Belgian divulged the news in a statement on X, expressing gratitude to the club and its fans:

After stints at Genk, Chelsea, Werder Bremen and Vfl Wolfsburg, De Bruyne joined Manchester City in 2015, and he has spent the past 10 seasons with the Sky Blues.

De Bruyne, who is Manchester City's captain, has enjoyed enormous success at the club, including winning essentially every trophy available.

During his Manchester City tenure, De Bruyne is a six-time Premier League champion, plus he has won the EFL Cup five times, the FA Cup and FA Community Shield two times each, and the UEFA Champions League once.

De Bruyne has also been named Manchester City Player of the Season four times, and he is the Premier League leader in assists, chances created and big chances created since 2015, per Squawka:

Manchester City have enjoyed one of the most dominant runs in league history in recent years, and De Bruyne is a big reason why.

Over the past seven seasons, the Citizens have six Premier League titles to their credit, and they were also the runner-up to Liverpool in 2020.

That level of success has eluded Manchester City this season, though, as they currently sit fifth in the EPL standings with 51 points.

Liverpool are well ahead of City and everyone else for that matter with 73 points, meaning there will be a new Premier League champion for the first time since 2020.

As of now, City are clinging to a Champions League qualification spot, as they currently sit in fifth place, which is on course to be an extra slot in next year's competition for the Premier League.

It is unclear where De Bruyne intends to go during the offseason, but he will be a free agent eligible to sign anywhere once his contract officially expires.

Although De Bruyne only has four goals across all competitions this season, he has scored 106 goals overall during his time at Manchester City, and he remains a high-end playmaker and leader, which should make him a sought-after commodity on the open market.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin isn't interested in expanding the 2030 World Cup field to 64 countries despite Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso proposing it at last month's FIFA Council meeting.

"This proposal that was made was even more surprising for me than for you," Ceferin told reporters at the UEFA Congress in Belgrade on Thursday. "I think it's a bad idea—it's not a good idea for the World Cup itself and it's not a good idea for our qualifiers as well. So, I am not supporting that idea. I don't know where it came from but it's strange that we didn't know anything before this proposal at the FIFA Council."

The 2030 tournament will be split between Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Morocco, Portugal and Spain, though the South American countries will only be hosting one game each in honor of the centenary of the first World Cup back in 1930, which was hosted by Uruguay. The other 101 contests will be split between Morocco, Portugal and Spain.

Alonso's proposal was made in the effort to hold more games in South America in 2030 in honor of the centenary, with FIFA saying it was "spontaneously raised" and "was acknowledged as FIFA has a duty to analyze any proposal from one of its council members."

Ceferin has opposed other alterations to the World Cup in the past, such as Saudi Arabia's attempt to have the tournament held every two years rather than every four. He has also opposed World Cup expansion, fearing that more qualifying teams would reduce the interest in the qualifying matches, as many of the bigger nations in Europe would be virtually guaranteed a spot a the World Cup.

Yassine Cheuko, the bodyguard for Inter Miami star Lionel Messi, said Tuesday that he will no longer be permitted to patrol the touchline during Messi's matches.

Per Reuters (h/t ESPN), Cheuko discussed the decision Tuesday, saying: "They don't allow me to be on the field anymore."

Inter Miami confirmed the decision to Elizabeth Flores and Safid Deen of USA Today, noting Cheuko will continue to work with the club.

Given that Messi is among the most popular athletes in the world, it has become somewhat commonplace for fans to run onto the field in an effort to interact with the Argentinian superstar.

Cheuko suggested that pitch invaders were much less of an issue in Europe than they are in the United States, saying:

"I was in Europe for seven years, working for Ligue 1 and the Champions League, and only six people invaded the pitch.

"I came to the USA and in just 20 months, 16 people have already done so. There's a huge problem here. I'm not the problem. Let me help Messi."

Cheuko, who is a former Navy SEAL, recently made headlines when he publicly challenged WWE Superstar and YouTuber Logan Paul to a boxing match:

Más+, which is a drink company owned by Messi, is in the midst of a legal battle with Paul's Prime Hydration.

Per MMAFighting.com, Más+ filed a lawsuit against Prime, alleging "anti-competitive" practices, and Prime filed a countersuit.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Paul addressed Cheuko's challenge, telling him to "get in line."

Paul added that if they do fight, it would be under the stipulation that Cheuko would have to drink Prime if he loses.

As for Messi and his soccer career, his Inter Miami club is in the early stages of the 2025 season, having played only five matches thus far.

Miami's next match is a road tilt with LAFC in the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinal on Wednesday, followed by an MLS home meeting with Toronto FC on Sunday.