After spending months mulling a blockbuster move to a rich Saudi Arabian club, Kevin De Bruyne seems to have taken a U-turn. Manchester City and Pep Guardiola could continue to bet on the sensational Belgian midfielder, as they kick-start their Premier League defense in mid-August. In a prelude to the exhilarating season ahead, City faces Barcelona tonight in the Camping World Stadium, Orlando. However, De Bruyne’s availability for the headline tie remains dubious.

De Bruyne’s absence has been felt in the Sky Blues, squad as they lost two of their US-based friendlies against AC Milan and Celtic. Guardiola and Co. now have this Barca game and a Chelsea game to provide a bit of entertainment to their followers on the other side of the Atlantic.

Is Kevin De Bruyne even with the Manchester City squad to start against Barcelona?

The straight answer would be no. Kevin De Bruyne has not traveled to the US with his City teammates during this club-friendly season. He has been continuing his summer vacation tradition in Ibiza, Spain. And guess who has accompanied the Belgian talisman for the fun outing? Of all people, it is Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk who is hanging out with De Bruyne in Ibiza. The duo has notably been hitting the same destination for the last two years to attend the Ushuaia Ibiza concert and watch the Scottish Calvin Harris’s performance.

During last year’s trip Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and City’s Nathan Ake had accompanied KDB and van Dijk. This time, the on-pitch rivals, yet off-pitch buddies, have taken to Ibiza without the company of fellow players. Anyhow, van Dijk’s Instagram activity indicates that his family has joined the trip. De Bruyne meanwhile has not posted any pictures of the outing on his socials. But he has shared an Instagram story in which we could see him enjoying a luxury cruise, perhaps in Ibiza. So, the Cityzens will have to battle Barca without their midfield main man.

Anyhow, he would probably be back for Guardiola and Co. when they face Manchester United in the FA Community Shield final on August 09. So, why has he ditched a fortunate Saudi move to continue in Manchester? We have you covered.

Why did De Bruyne take a U-turn on a Saudi move?

Rumors had linked Kevin De Bruyne with every other heavyweight club in Saudi Arabia. For a long time, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr was the top candidate to land KDB. Soon, the Al Nassr rumors died down and Al Ittihad dominated the race for the Belgian. The Jeddah-based outfit reportedly even offered to pay him more than a million every week to play for their side. That’s way more than what City would pay him. Yet, after a thorough discussion with his family, the 33-year-old midfielder opted not to move to Saudi and chose Etihad once again.

It is not surprising to see family members who don’t fancy a Saudi move for players. Ex- Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson’s wife reportedly struggled to adjust to rigid Saudi laws and this was supposedly one of the many reasons why he escaped Al Ettifaq for Ajax. De Bruyne might have envisioned such struggles in the future and snubbed the Middle East for Manchester.