Kevin De Bruyne spotted with his wife looking glum the morning after he promised to ‘quit’ the Belgium team – but Man City star refused to answer questions on the outburst before admitting he had ‘little sleep’
Kevin De Bruyne has been spotted visiting a Belgian charity centre with his somber wife, just hours after the Manchester City star vowed to quit the national team.
The 33-year-old’s extraordinary outburst took place after a disappointing 2-0 defeat to France, where goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Ousmane Dembele made the difference in Lyon.
Shortly after the final whistle, De Bruyne went to technical director Frank Vercauteren and seemed to make it clear that he wanted to ‘quit’. He then went to talk to Kylian Mbappé, striker of France and Real Madrid.
In a brutal post-match interview, the midfielder accused his teammates of ‘not doing their job’ and being ‘not good enough’ for international football.
Now De Bruyne has reappeared in public with a pale face to visit the Ronald McDonald House, a center that provides care to relatives of sick children, together with his wife Michèle Lacroix. HLN defeated.
Kevin De Bruyne and his wife were spotted looking somber during a visit to a Belgian charity center
A pale-faced De Bruyne has returned to the public eye to visit the Ronald McDonald House
Kevin De Bruyne’s Belgian career is on the rocks after an extraordinary post-match outburst
Asked about the night before, the Belgian replied: ‘This is not the place to talk about football.
“We are happy to be here. It was not easy with our busy schedule, but we committed to this group and that is why we wanted to be here.
‘We are also happy that we can do this, the organization deserves this.’
Most of the team travelled straight back to their clubs after the painful defeat, but De Bruyne travelled to Jette to visit the charity. They had arrived in Brussels at 3am.
The couple has been supporting the Ronald McDonald Children’s Fund for some time and they visited the center on the day of its five-year anniversary.
De Bruyne is believed to have given a speech about his sponsorship of the foundation.
The visit follows a fit of rage that jeopardised his future in Domenico Tedesco’s team.
On Monday evening he told the media: ‘There were six of us at the back.
De Bruyne approached technical director Frank Vercauteren (right) and appeared to make it clear he wanted to ‘quit’, before leaving for France and Real Madrid player Kylian Mbappe (centre)
The explosion came after Belgium’s disappointing 2-0 defeat to France on Monday
The couple has been supporting the Ronald McDonald Children’s Fund for some time now
De Bruyne is believed to have given a speech about his sponsorship of the foundation
‘There was no connection. Not even in the second half. You’re behind, right?
“I wonder what you see in the game. It’s not about the transitions. It’s about the way of playing and people not doing their job.”
When asked what needed to be improved, De Bruyne gave a brutal answer, calling certain aspects of the performance “unacceptable.”
He said, ‘We’ve got to be better in every way. The standard is the top. If you can’t handle the top, you’re not good enough.’
‘And then you have to give everything on the field. Some people don’t even do that.
‘I can accept that we are not that good. I am also the first to say that in the past.
“But other things are unacceptable. I’m not going to elaborate on that. I did that when I was eighteen at Racing Genk. Now I’m 33 and I don’t do that anymore.”
The division within the camp only grew as Tedesco answered questions from reporters and the coach urged his captain to “stay calm.”
An irritated Belgian captain spoke to the media and did not hold back last night
The midfielder was one of Belgium’s leading figures during a so-called Golden Generation that fell short at every major tournament, including the 2018 World Cup (pictured).
Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco said: ‘Am I afraid he will stop playing international? You shouldn’t talk about that now. Everyone needs to calm down’
Belgium’s next match is a big Nations League clash against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico
The midfielder was one of the highlights of Belgium during the so-called Golden Generation, which slowly lost its shine. The country did not reach a single major final during that period.
With 107 caps in a 14-year spell representing his country, De Bruyne’s loyalty has been unwavering thus far. In fact, he was the only member of that once-promising group of players to play in France on Monday.
Belgium’s next match is a key Nations League clash against Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in exactly one month’s time. It remains to be seen whether one of the country’s all-time greats will lead his team that night.