Michele De Bruyne, the wife of Belgium playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, has spoken candidly about the challenges her family has faced living in Naples and their growing wish to return home to Belgium.
After ending an iconic 10-year career at Manchester City, the 35-year-old midfielder signed for Napoli in the summer of 2025. However, his time in Italy has been plagued by setbacks, including fitness struggles during his first season and a reported falling-out with former manager Antonio Conte.
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The situation has shown little sign of improving under current boss Massimiliano Allegri, with Napoli sitting 10th in Serie A and reports emerging earlier this term of a dressing-room clash between De Bruyne and several teammates.
In an interview with Belgian magazine NINA back in September, Michele, who wed De Bruyne in 2017, admitted that moving back to their native country is increasingly on their minds.
“Of course, we think about the future together,” she said. “And increasingly often, we say to each other: ‘We are going to live here in Limburg. The sooner we get here, the better.’”
Although Michele expressed appreciation for Naples’ scenery, climate, and cuisine, she noted that the lack of privacy has severely impacted both De Bruyne and their three children, Mason, Rome, and Suri.
“Kevin leads a very restricted life in Napoli,” she explained. “It’s not much fun for him. Besides, we can’t do anything together as a family in the city. That’s the other side of the coin, isn’t it?
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“In Manchester, it was different. Where we lived, people had seen us so often that it wasn’t special anymore. We could walk out the door there without a single photo being taken. In Naples, that is impossible.”
With speculation mounting over a possible January departure from Napoli, Michele emphasized that her husband’s career is no longer the deciding factor in their family’s next move.
“At a certain point, football is no longer the priority,” she concluded. “You have achieved everything, done everything. Why would you then turn your children’s lives upside down?”
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