Former Chelsea midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is still bewildered at not getting a chance with the Blues. The Belgian, who made a move to German club Wolfsburg, arrived at Chelsea in 2012 with a reputation as being one of the rising stars of European football.
Yet, Portuguese boss Jose Mourinho didna t seem to agree with that theory and never quite gave the midfielder enough first team opportunities to prove himself.
De Bruyne became a Chelsea player in January 2012, but was loaned back to Genk for the remainder of the season. The season following it, the Belgian was sent on loan to German club Werder Bremen before finally returning to Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2013.
While De Bruyne claimed to be motivated to finally arrive at Chelsea, he says he was never given the opportunity or the confidence by Mourinho. The same season, the midfielder was sold to Wolfsburg in the winter transfer window for A?13.2m. .
Since leaving the Blues, the 23 year-old has been superb at the Volkswagen Arena and has admitted that he is happy that he is away from both Mourinho and Chelsea.
“I feel at home at Wolfsburg and, in this moment, I’m even willing to sign a new contract,” De Bruyne told Sport Bild.
“It’s a club on a rapid rise, also from an economic point of view – not yet like Bayern Munich, obviously, but the club is growing.
“The choice to join Chelsea was not the best. Being at Chelsea is like being in a different world.
“Mourinho didn’t explain to me why I was not playing. Maybe things would have been different if Chelsea had paid a 45m for me, rather than a 8m. A higher transfer fee maybe would have afforded me greater consideration.”
Mourinho anyway has a reputation of sidelining players at times. In his previous spell at Chelsea it was Andriy Shevchenko, at Real Madrid it was Iker Casillas and at Chelsea again it was Juan Mata. De Bruynea s surprise at being overlooked, however, seems justified, considering his form since he left Chelsea.
The midfielder has already scored eight goals and made 12 assists in 22 Bundesliga appearances with Wolfsburg.