Potential MLS landing spots for Man City star Kevin De Bruyne

Only 33, De Bruyne still has a few good years left on the pitch — and many expect him to play them out in Major League Soccer. 

But where in MLS might De Bruyne land? Here are potential spots should he choose to make the leap:

New York City FC, because of shared ownership

When De Bruyne first made noise about leaving Man City, NYCFC immediately entered the conversation. The Eastern Conference team joined MLS in 2015 as a joint venture between the New York Yankees and City Football Group. Yes, as in that City. NYCFC and Man City share majority owners and have deep backroom connections.

2025 would be a wonderful time for De Bruyne to join NYCFC. With a new soccer-specific stadium set to open in 2027, NYCFC is making moves for its long-term future — and De Bruyne's arrival could be just the way to highlight them.

San Diego FC, because of previous connections

De Bruyne is a big fan of San Diego as a location. "He's a fantastic footballer and he loves this area. He goes on holidays here every single year," said San Diego sporting director Tyler Heaps, per 90min.com.

But will that be enough to make San Diego FC a viable destination for the Belgian? Probably not. 

"I've had conversations with him, but I'll tell you what: Those wages won't fit our budget at the moment in terms of what his expectations are," Heaps said, per ESPN.

It's all for the best, though. After a blistering start to its first MLS campaign, San Diego looks good at midfield. The club doesn't need De Bruyne's star power to make it competitive.

Inter Miami, because of discovery rights

MLS has many bizarre, league-specific rules. But there is one rule in particular that stands out in De Bruyne's case: discovery rights.

Parity and responsible spending are key MLS tenets. The league doesn't want its clubs entering bidding wars with one another and making good talent prohibitively expensive. To avoid that, MLS allows clubs to exercise "discovery rights" on players based abroad who it believes may come to MLS one day. 

Those discovery rights mean that if the player chooses to play in the MLS, the club that "discovered" him gets to make an offer first. The player can refuse that offer and sign with a different MLS team, but if he does, the club that signs the player must pay a fee to the club that "discovered" him. Case in point: When Miguel Almiron left Atlanta United for Newcastle in 2019, Charlotte FC jumped on his discovery rights in the hope that he'd one day return to MLS. He did, but he went back to Atlanta instead. Charlotte, however, received a whopping $400,000 from Atlanta as part of the deal.

Inter Miami holds De Bruyne's discovery rights, but getting a deal done won't be easy for the club. Big-name stars such as De Bruyne require big-money designated player contracts, and with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba on its roster, Miami doesn't have any of those remaining.

But come on, it's Miami. If the club wants De Bruyne, it will find a way to make it happen.