I am happy he left Napoli — De Bruyne breaks silence on Conte exit

Kevin De Bruyne joined Napoli as a free agent last year and, although he started well in Italy, the Belgian missed a large chunk of the season through injury.

The playmaker returned for the run-in and rounded out the campaign with nine goal involvements in all competitions, including five goals in 21 appearances.

A year after leading Napoli to the title, Conte left after failing to defend it, and De Bruyne did not hold back in his criticism of the former coach.

"Obviously, it was difficult for me because Conte has a very different vision of football to mine. In truth, I never had the opportunity to play in my preferred position," he said.

"We played very defensively. If you try to win every game by a one-goal margin with a 4-5-1 formation, you play a certain type of football. At the start of the season, we sat back even deeper.

"Our centre-forward Rasmus Hojlund scored just 10 league goals, so you know the statistics are not going to be great.

"For me, yes, I am happy Conte left. As far as I am concerned, he was not obliged to stay. There were promises made last summer about how we would be playing, but at the end of the day, not much of it came to pass.

"I found that a pity. Football needs to be enjoyable, and unfortunately, I found that aspect lacking. There is no point beating around the bush; we have different visions of football. I never got to play in my position under Conte."

Massimiliano Allegri, who was sacked by AC Milan earlier this week, is reportedly in line to take over at Napoli. De Bruyne, though, is unsure about his own future at the club.

"I still have a year left on my contract, but I want to talk about it. There was a lot of talk last year of how we would play and what we would do, but none of it happened," he said.