Wednesday, May 17, 2023 at 11:44 PM• Martin van Mourik

Jan Boskamp sees a love-hate relationship between Kevin De Bruyne and manager Josep Guardiola. During the review of the Champions League game between Manchester City and Real Madrid (4-0), the analyst responds to a moment of anger from the attacking midfielder, who seemed to have a fierce discussion with his coach after losing the ball in the 49th minute. A few minutes before the end, De Bruyne was taken off in favor of Phil Foden, after which he gave Guardiola a firm hug.

In the 49th minute of play, De Bruyne was sent down by Erling Braut Haaland. The attacking midfielder hoped to dive into space, but he got stuck on the block formed by Dani Carvajal and Éder Militao. The loss of the ball led to a fierce reaction from Guardiola, after which De Bruyne also expressed his displeasure towards his manager with clear hand gestures. In the 84th minute, the sky seemed clear when Phil Foden came on for De Bruyne, who gave Guardiola a hug.

Boskamp, ​​as a guest analyst in the studio of RTL 7, sees that De Bruyne was seriously annoyed. “Guardiola just always wants to put him on edge. But Kev sometimes goes on a rampage: it really is a poison frog. When he gets angry he can really get a red head. Then it really doesn’t matter who is in front of him and then he will let you know what he thinks about it. I do feel like it’s a love-hate relationship he and Guardiola have. His head was really red!” said the analyst.

Theo Janssen, also a guest in the program, plays down the striking moment with a 2-0 lead. “On the other hand, this should also be possible. A player reacts from a certain emotion. De Bruyne tries to create something from a counter, but that doesn’t go well. Guardiola then reacts to that, and it will not have been just about that moment. Then they give each other a hug and the quarrel is over,” concludes Janssen.