Kevin De Bruyne criticises former Napoli head coach Antonio Conte - 'Our centre-forward scored just 10 goals'

Kevin De Bruyne's move to Napoli last summer was seen as a match made in heaven. The then-Scudetto winners sought to build upon their 2024/25 success with the addition of the Belgian.

Scott McTominay was the star in Naples, and adding a player of De Bruyne's calibre was expected to boost both Antonio Conte's squad options and the Partenopei's chances of defending their crown.

The 34-year-old, who departed Manchester City as a free agent having run down his contract, was viewed as the ideal fit to provide the ammunition for the forwards under Conte.

The dream, though, did not turn out as had been hoped.

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De Bruyne suffered a serious hamstring injury when scoring a penalty in a 3-1 win over eventual champions Internazionale back in November. He did not start a league game again until a 1-0 victory at Cagliari in March.

The former City man went on to make just 13 league starts, scoring five goals in the process.

Napoli finished second, 11 points behind Inter, as Christian Chivu guided the Nerazzurri to the Scudetto in his debut season at San Siro.

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A lack of domestic success saw Conte depart the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona following their 1-0 win over Udinese on the final day.

And ahead of the 2026 World Cup, De Bruyne has admitted he is "happy" that Conte has left the club.

"Obviously it was difficult for me because Conte has a very different vision of football to mine," De Bruyne, who was called up to the Belgium squad for the summer showpiece, told Het Nieuwsblad.

"In truth, I never had the opportunity to play in my preferred position. In any case, I always tried to give my all for the team."

De Bruyne 'happy' Conte is gone

The creative star questioned Conte's management style as he continued: "We played very defensively. If you try to win every game by a one-goal margin with a 4-5-1 formation, you play a certain type of football.

"At the start of the season, we sat back even deeper. Our centre-forward scored just 10 goals, so you know the statistics are not going to be great…"

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And when asked whether he was happy that Conte has left, De Bruyne replied: "For me, yes. As far as I am concerned, he was not obliged to stay.

"There were promises made last summer on the way that we would be playing, but at the end of the day not much of it happened.

"I found that a pity. Football needs to be enjoyable, and unfortunately, I found that aspect lacking.

"There’s no point beating around the bush, we have different visions of football. I never got to play in my position under Conte."

Belgian does not commit to Napoli

De Bruyne penned a two-year deal in Naples when he arrived last year, and while he still has 12 months left to run on his contract, there are no guarantees that the midfielder will remain at the Italian side, even in the wake of Conte's departure.

"I still have a year left on my contract, but I want to talk about it," De Bruyne said.

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"There was a lot of talk last year of how we’d play and what we would do, but none of it happened."

Napoli are now expected to hire Max Allegri as Conte's replacement after his AC Milan departure earlier this month.

Allegri was relieved of his duties as the Rossoneri failed to secure a UEFA Champions League finish, as a run of one win from the last five games of the season saw Como leapfrog Milan into fourth on the final day of the season.

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