MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City great Kevin De Bruyne will make his Etihad Stadum farewell on Tuesday, though Pep Guardiola is not promising a start for the Belgium playmaker with Champions League qualification on the line.
The 33-year-old De Bruyne, who is leaving City at the end of the season after 10 years at the club, played the full match in the 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
With the Premier League home match against Bournemouth coming three days later, Guardiola has to balance sentiment with an assessment on De Bruyne’s fitness levels when it comes to whether he plays the midfielder in City’s final home game of the season.
Indeed, speaking at a news conference Monday, Guardiola wasn’t even prepared to say if De Bruyne — one of City’s greatest ever players — will feature at least as a substitute.
“Kevin will get what he deserves, and what he deserves is the best moment and the best compliment for his incredible trajectory and what he has done with the incredible other legends in this club,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola said he is purely thinking about fielding “the best players to win the game against Bournemouth.”
“What Kevin will want is that we win the game to qualify for the Champions League next season,” the manager added. “This is what Kevin wants, it could not be otherwise.”
City’s final league game is at Fulham on Sunday.
The defending champions’ unprecedented run of four straight league titles came to an end this season and they are now battling to just get into the Champions League.
City will start the game against Bournemouth in sixth place, a point behind third-place Newcastle, fourth-place Chelsea and fifth-place Aston Villa. Only the top five will secure a Champions League spot.
Given City’s goal difference, four points should be enough from its final two games to seal a top-five finish.
City has qualified for the Champions League every year since 2011-12.
“If we are not there, we don’t deserve it and we play the Europa League,” Guardiola said. “So it is what it is. But I’m thinking we’re going to qualify.”
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