De Bruyne sends indirect message to Allegri after Belgium brace

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - SEPTEMBER 28: Kevin De Bruyne of Belgium signals during the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 group phase match between Belgium and France at Stade Roi Baudouin on September 28, 2026 in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Kevin De Bruyne has sent a hint to his Napoli head coach Massimiliano Allegri, claiming that the football he plays under Mark van Bommel with the Belgium national team ‘suits’ him, and that he feels ‘better physically’ when playing for his country. 

De Bruyne: Van Bommel’s football with Belgium ‘suits me better’

De Bruyne netted a brace in his most recent outing for Belgium in an eventual 3-0 Nations League victory over Vincenzo Montella’s Turkey on Friday night. 

The former Manchester City star has a goal and an assist to his name after five Serie A appearances with Napoli this term, but there have been reports in the press suggesting that the ‘honeymoon period’ is over for head coach Allegri and that he isn’t satisfied with some of his first-team stars, including De Bruyne. 

De Bruyne had been publicly critical of his previous Napoli boss, Antonio Conte, claiming that he was happy to see the coach leave and that there were “promises made about the way we would be playing, but at the end of the day, not much of it happened.”

There are some concerns that certain similarities are beginning to creep through under Allegri’s leadership as well, and De Bruyne has now suggested that he enjoys playing with Belgium more than he does with Napoli. 

“Van Bommel’s attacking football suits me and I’m doing better physically,” said De Bruyne (via SportMediaset). 

De Bruyne has started in all three of Belgium’s matches so far this international break, and has typically lined up as the most attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. 

Allegri, meanwhile, tends to deploy a flatter midfield in a 4-3-3, which sees the Belgian ‘give up’ on some of his attacking qualities to take a deeper role with the Partenopei. Curiously, De Bruyne has only started for Napoli this season in matches when Scott McTominay has been unavailable.