Man City Fans Make Kevin De Bruyne Feelings Clear After FA Cup Final Loss Vs Crystal Palace

Man City Fans Make Kevin De Bruyne Feelings Clear After FA Cup Final Loss Vs Crystal Palace

Manchester City fans have cast their verdict on Kevin De Bruyne’s imminent departure following their 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the 2025 FA Cup final. The Belgian led his side out at Wembley in what was ultimately a losing effort, thanks to Eberechi Eze’s strike with Palace’s first attack of the game.

While Pep Guardiola’s men controlled possession throughout, they were unable to break down the Eagles’ defence as Dean Henderson made a string of incredible stops – including saving Omar Marmoush’s penalty – while the likes of Chris Richards were able to keep Erling Haaland quiet. However, it was De Bruyne’s contribution to proceedings that City fans picked up on as they shared their thoughts on the club’s decision to let the playmaker’s contract expire.

De Bruyne Unable to Inspire City Victory
The Belgian was one of the more creative City players at Wembley

As expected, De Bruyne was at the heart of most things that City attempted to produce at the home of English football, and his efforts saw him awarded a rating of 7.7 by Sofascore – with only Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku coming away with statistically higher ratings for the losing side.

The former Chelsea man played four key passes and created one big chance that was ultimately spurned. His four efforts on goal saw two hit the target, while he also completed 100% of his dribbles and came out on top in six of his 11 duels.

De Bruyne was uncharacteristically wasteful though, losing possession on 20 occasions and completing just 85% of his passes. While this is somewhat down to the fact he and his team were trying to force an equaliser late on, it was still below what many have come to expect from the legendary midfielder, who also struggled with his long-range passing and crossing.

Fans Claim Time is Right For De Bruyne to Go

Several acknowledged De Bruyne’s efforts but suggested it was an end of an era

Taking to social media throughout and after the game, several City supporters shared their belief that while De Bruyne may have been one of the better performers on the day, his sloppiness in crucial moments proved that the club were right to decide to move him on.

“They were right to move De Bruyne on,” stated one fan, who followed up on this comment by adding: “Him being our best player still is very bad news.” A second added: “Today was like watching Kev’s testimonial. I never thought Guardiola would be classed as a sentimental coach. But there’s no argument after these last few weeks. Unexplainable,” while a third assessed: “KDB was arguably our best attacking threat today — but let’s be honest, he gave the ball away far too many times in the last 25 minutes.

“Not offering him a new deal on £400k/week is probably the only good decision the club has made this season. Time to move forward with youth, energy, and fresh ideas!”