Kevin De Bruyne Hits Out Again At Unimportant UEFA Nations League Tournament

Recently, Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne joined the growing list of footballers to strongly criticise the UEFA Nations League for piling on to the unrelenting football calendar with several competitive fixtures this month.

However, the Genk academy graduate is clearly not one to shy away from speaking his mind, as he explained the various drawbacks of the international competition that came to inception in September 2018.

The 30-year old continued, “I feel playing the Nations League for a lot of countries gives less opportunity (to fringe players) because the tournament feels a little bit more important than it actually is. Then maybe other guys can get a break.”

It is due to this very aspect that senior players such as the midfield maestro virtually become guaranteed starters in every possible fixture, as highlighted by the fact that he played 240 out of a possible 285 minutes in Belgium’s last three matches.

Setting such a precedent takes away from the much-discussed goal of enhancing player welfare, which only makes Kevin De Bruyne’s criticism about the competition ring truer by the day.

Thankfully, De Bruyne was released by Belgium prior to the final fixture of four this week, and will now enter his three-week holiday period ahead of Manchester City's pre-season training camp and preparations matches before the 2022/23 season.