Kevin De Bruyne has called for football to come together after the fall-out from the European Super League proposals.
Manchester City have informed the organisers that they do not wish to be involved after 48 hours of condemnation from all corners of society, and immense pressure from City fans who oppose the Super League plans.
Pep Guardiola earlier in the day told reporters that "it is not a sport where success is already guaranteed or it doesn’t matter where you lose. I said many times, I want the best competition."
He called for City and Super League leaders to come out and explain their decisions. In the meantime, players had slowly been making their feelings known, with Manchester United pair Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw posting on social media. Joao Cancelo had previously re-posted something critical of the plans.
Now, De Bruyne has added his thoughts to the mix, just as reports were speculating that City were set to perform a dramatic u-turn on their involvement.
He started: "This man comes from a little town out of Belgium dreaming of playing at the highest stage possible.
"I've represented the Belgian, German and English league. And also proudly represented my country. I have worked and competed against everybody trying to win the ultimate. But the most important word in this is COMPETING.
"With all events that been happening these last few days maybe this is a good moment for everybody to come together and try to work for a solution.
"We know this is a big business and I know I am part of this business. But I am still a little boy who loves to play football.
"It's not about a certain entity in this case it's about the whole football world. Let's keep inspiring the next generation of footballers and keep the fans dreaming."
