De Bruyne says he is happy Conte left Napoli
Kevin De Bruyne was glad to see the back of Antonio Conte after the latter left Napoli at the end of the 2025-2026 Serie A campaign.
De Bruyne joined Napoli as a free agent last year, and although he started well in Italy, the Belgian then missed a large chunk of the season because of injury.
The playmaker returned to action for the run-in and rounded out the campaign with nine goal involvements in all competitions, including five goals in 21 appearances.
A year after leading Napoli to the title, Conte left after failing to win it again, and De Bruyne did not hold back in his criticism of the former coach.
"Obviously it was difficult for me because Conte has a very different vision of football to mine. In truth, I never had the opportunity to play in my preferred position," he said.
"In any case, I always tried to give my all for the team.
"We played very defensively. If you try to win every game by a one-goal margin with a 4-5-1 formation, you play a certain type of football. At the start of the season, we sat back even deeper.
"Our centre-forward [Rasmus Hojlund] scored just [12 league] goals, so you know the statistics are not going to be great.
"For me, yes, [I am happy Conte left]. As far as I am concerned, he was not obliged to stay. There were promises made last summer on the way that we would be playing, but at the end of the day, not much of it happened.
"I found that a pity. Football needs to be enjoyable, and unfortunately, I found that aspect lacking. There's no point beating around the bush; we have different visions of football. I never got to play in my position under Conte."
Massimiliano Allegri, who was sacked by AC Milan earlier this week, is reportedly in line to take over at Napoli.
De Bruyne, though, is unsure about his own future at the club.
"I still have a year left on my contract, but I want to talk about it. There was a lot of talk last year of how we'd play and what we would do, but none of it happened," he said.
