‘Teary-Eyed’ Kevin De Bruyne Drops Retirement Plans After Belgium’s UEFA Euro Loss to France

Kevin De Bruyne and the Belgium national team are at their wit’s end after an own-goal from Jan Vertonghen granted France a victory at the Euro’s Round of 16 games. De Bruyne came so close to giving Belgium the lifeline with an ace strike. But fate had it that the Manchester City star had to exit the Euro in tears. After the abysmal campaign at the European tournament, De Bruyne hinted that he might soon contemplate retirement.

“It’s too early to answer. Let me process this loss. It’s a been a very long season, I need to rest my body. I will make my decision after the summer,” Kevin De Bruyne said, as compiled by City Extra on X.

Belgium’s campaign, led by De Bruyne, has largely been forgetful at the UEFA Euros 2024. They earned only one group game victory, beating Romania 2-0. The underdogs- Slovakia upset them in the group stage and Ukraine held them to a draw. After marginally making it to the knockout, Belgium wrote its own tragic fate with an own goal.

It won’t come as a surprise if De Bruyne ultimately chose to call it a day as a Belgium player. Firstly, he earlier hinted that the best days were over for the Red Devils. Furthermore, the Manchester City stalwart has not had the best of times with Belgium supporters lately.

Kevin De Bruyne foresaw Belgium’s doom and has upset their fans

In an interview before the 2022 World Cup, Kevin De Bruyne remarked that Belgium’s chance to lift the trophy was in 2018. He added that he sees Belgium as ‘outsiders’ in the tournament. In the Euro that came two years later, we can see that much has not changed concerning the Belgium team. With former aces such as Vincent Kompany and Eden Hazard leaving the Red Devils, De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were left as the last of Belgium’s ‘golden generation.’ If Hazard called it quits, can De Bruyne be far behind?

Furthermore, De Bruyne was angered at Belgium fans’ response to the team’s lackluster draw against Ukraine in the group stage. The Belgian captain urged his teammates to turn their back on the angered Belgian crowd and walk back to their dressing room.

Now, the fan sentiment towards Belgium must only have gotten worse after this disappointing Euro exit against France. Considering all this, De Bruyne has indeed been having a long season and it won’t be beyond him to say it’s time to rest.