Kevin De Bruyne deserves a statue but not a special contract! Man City should accept any big-money bid from Saudi Arabia for brilliant but injury-prone Belgian

Before making a shock move to become CEO of Manchester United, Omar Berrada spoke to The Financial Times about his role in turning Manchester City into the shrewdest financial operators in football.

City had just celebrated world-record revenues of £712 million ($902m) on the back of winning the treble but Berrada was keen to emphasise that their success was as much down to driving a hard bargain as it was to their ability to splash out on expensive superstars such as Erling Haaland or Jack Grealish.

The Frenchman, who left Barcelona to work for City in 2010, explained how he had helped the club "make the right decisions and to take the emotions as much as we can out of those decisions". He also warned against going down a "slippery slope" of caving into the demands of players, agents or clubs when negotiating contracts.

Berrada may have left City but the club would do well to keep on following his advice when it comes to negotiations, even with their best-loved and most productive players. And that includes Kevin De Bruyne, who is set to attract interest from Saudi Arabia this summer.