'Time to say goodbye': Kevin De Bruyne to leave Man City

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Kevin De Bruyne has announced he will leave Manchester City - bringing an end to a trophy-laden decade with the club.

The 33-year-old Belgian playmaker is out of contract this summer and in an emotional post on his social media channels on Friday confirmed he is in his “final months” with the Premier League champion.

“Nothing about this is easy to write, but as football players, we all know this day eventually comes. That day is here,” he wrote.

De Bruyne will go down as one of the all-time Premier League greats after helping City win 16 major trophies during a period of unprecedented dominance.

Since joining from Wolfsburg for around $71 million in 2015 he has gone on to win every major club honor, including the Champions League.

“This city. This club. These people... gave me EVERYTHING. I had no choice but to give EVERYTHING back! And guess what — we won EVERYTHING,” he wrote. “Whether we like it or not, it’s time to say goodbye.”

City manager Pep Guardiola described it as a “sad day” following De Bruyne's announcement.

“In the Premier League he is one of the greatest midfielders ever to play in this country and I think in this club (there) is no doubt,” Guardiola said. “His assists, his goals, his vision in the final third, that is so difficult to replace.”

With 118 assists in the league, De Bruyne is second only to Manchester United great Ryan Giggs, who provided 162, on the all-time list.

He reached that total in 280 appearances, as opposed to 632 for Giggs. He has played 413 matches for City in all competitions, scored 106 goals and was twice named PFA Player of the Year in England.

While De Bruyne will go down as one of the finest players to play for City, he could have instead spent the bulk of his career at Chelsea after joining club from Belgian team Genk in 2012. But he grew frustrated after making only two league starts and eventually moved to Wolfsburg in Germany in 2014.

There he revitalized his career and convinced City to make him the club’s record signing.

De Bruyne did not say if he would take part in the Club World Cup, which runs through June and July in the United States.

FILE - Manchester City's Erling Haaland, left, and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrate with the Premier League trophy after the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and West Ham United at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, file)

FILE - Manchester City's scorer Kevin De Bruyne, second right, and his teammates celebrate the opening goal during their English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Brighton and Manchester City at the Falmer Stadium in Brighton, England, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne during the Champions League Group D soccer match between Manchester City and Sevilla at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, England, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. (AP Photo/Jon Super, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kyle Walker reacts as teammate Kevin De Bruyne is assisted after a foul by Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger during the Champions League final soccer match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Dragao Stadium in Porto, Portugal, Saturday, May 29, 2021. (Michael Steele/Pool via AP, file)

FILE- Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne crouches on the pitch after getting injured during the Champions League final soccer match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, file)

FILE - Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola talks with Kevin De Bruyne after being substitute during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates with fans after winning the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, May 22, 2022.(AP Photo/Dave Thompson, file)

FILE - Manchester City's scorer Kevin De Bruyne, right, and his teammates celebrate their side's 2nd goal during the Champions League group C soccer match between Manchester City and Barcelona at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2016. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the Champions League quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates with Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, left, after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Arsenal at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, file)

FILE - Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates with the trophy after winning the Champions League final soccer match between Manchester City and Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, June 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, file)

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne celebrates at the end of the English FA Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality stadium in Bournemouth, England, Sunday, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ian Walton)

TRIESTE, Italy & MILAN, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 10, 2025--

Fincantieri, a global leader in complex shipbuilding, and Accenture (NYSE: ACN), one of the world’s leading professional services companies, have signed an agreement to establish Fincantieri Ingenium, a new joint venture. The company will be owned 70% by Fincantieri NexTech—a subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group—and 30% by Accenture. The initiative stems from a Memorandum of Understanding signed in July 2024 and combines Fincantieri’s technological expertise in the naval sector with Accenture’s advanced digital capabilities and digital engineering and manufacturing expertise.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250410805533/en/

Fincantieri Ingenium has been created to accelerate digital transformation across the cruise, defense, and port infrastructure sectors. It will play a key role in executing the strategy outlined in Fincantieri Group’s Industrial Plan. The goal is to enhance the offering of digital services and systems based on recent advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence by optimizing the entire value chain through data utilization and process transformation.

The joint venture will integrate Accenture’s extensive experience in digital platforms, AI, connectivity and IoT, cybersecurity, and service design with Fincantieri’s deep technological know-how in the naval and defense industries. This powerful combination will enable the development of new technological capabilities and skills, while also attracting and training new talent.

Among the first strategic initiatives of the new company is the development of Navis Sapiens, a digital ecosystem designed for next-generation ships and the upgrade of existing fleets. The project spans three key dimensions: the creation of a portfolio of application services to optimize operational efficiency and lifecycle management for ships and onshore infrastructure; the development of a digital platform enabling these applications and advanced AI-driven functionalities, with a strong focus on cybersecurity; and a marketplace to facilitate the exchange of solutions—including those from third parties—to deliver high value-added services and enable new business models across the maritime ecosystem. The first ship equipped with Navis Sapiens is expected to enter service by the end of 2025.

In synergy with Navis Sapiens, the joint venture also plans to enhance real-time data exchange and connectivity between ships and onshore ecosystems—including ports and shipyards—through a sea-to-shoreinteroperability solution to increase cross-functional process efficiency. This project will help improve the competitiveness of Italian ports by optimizing performance across the entire maritime and land-based value chain. All initiatives will be promoted with sustainability as a core pillar. The systems will be designed to reduce environmental impact through data-driven energy optimization, supporting shipowners in reducing fuel consumption. The initiatives already underway, as well as those to come, will generate significant value for Fincantieri, the national maritime ecosystem, and the country as a whole, with a positive impact on a global scale.

Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and General Manager of Fincantieri, said: "With Fincantieri Ingenium, we strengthen our leadership position in technological innovation applied to shipbuilding and the naval engineering industry. This joint venture represents a strategic step forward in accelerating the digitalization of the sector, leveraging artificial intelligence and the most advanced technologies. Thanks to the synergy with Accenture, we will develop cutting-edge solutions that will make our ships and infrastructures increasingly connected, efficient and sustainable, consolidating Fincantieri's role as a global leader in the sector."

Teodoro Lio, MU Lead for ICEG and CEO of Accenture Italy, commented: “We are excited about this joint venture with Fincantieri, which marks a significant step forward in maritime innovation and is a tangible example of collaboration between two organizations committed to transforming the market and creating new value. With Fincantieri Ingenium, we are combining our respective strengths to shape new operating models that will transform maritime operations through innovative technologies.”

The project is subject to customary conditions precedents related to regulatory compliance .

About Fincantieri
Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, the only one active in all high-tech marine industry sectors. It is leader in the construction and transformation of cruise, naval and oil & gas and wind offshore vessels, as well as in the production of systems and component equipment, after-sales services and marine interiors solutions. Thanks to the expertise developed in the management of complex projects, the Group boasts first-class references in infrastructures, and is a reference player in digital technologies and cybersecurity, electronics and advanced systems. With over 230 years of history and more than 7,000 ships built, Fincantieri maintains its know-how, expertise and management centres in Italy, here employing over 11,000 workers and creating around 90,000 jobs, which double worldwide thanks to a production network of 18 shipyards operating worldwide and with over 22,000 employees.
www.fincantieri.com

About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services—creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent- and innovation-led company with approximately 801,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world’s leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. Our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Song, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360° value, enable us to help our clients reinvent and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at accenture.com

Fincantieri, a global leader in complex shipbuilding, and Accenture, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, have signed an agreement to establish Fincantieri Ingenium, a new joint venture.