Why, Kevin?

Even if his attempt to roll the ball around the advancing Timo Horn had worked and he had sealed the win, Kevin de Bruyne's mind still looked like one a long way away from the Rhein-Energie Stadion in Cologne last weekend. The 24-year-old was trying too hard. He didn't look like a man who was really focused. For weeks, the reason why has been evident and now the wait is finally over. He's going to Manchester City.

Just because Premier League clubs are stupid enough to throw money at anything that sparkles doesn't mean you have to catch it Kevin! de Bruyne's transfer to Manchester City only makes sense in a financial world, which is the football world today and probably even the world itself. The old man in me doesn't understand the financial side of things. Granted, most people faced with the offer of a 15 million-euro pay rise would struggle to say no, but those already earning five million? Does any one man already earning a seven-figure salary need more? In a world where the cost and price is constantly rising, why go for even more? Of course, the threat of career-ending injury lies right around the corner but as hard as Xabi Alonso tackles (and evades a booking), this isn't American Football.

Still, back in the real world, de Bruyne's talent and development was always going to merit a big move but why now? For de Bruyne, the smarter development move would have been to play this season with Wolfsburg, enjoy the Champions League, improve further in a system that works and is effectively built around you, before surveying even more suitable options at the end of another impressive season. This way, nothing is sure for the Belgian who returns to a league that holds bad memories and a team stuffed full of talent.

Apparently de Bruyne wanted to stay in Wolfsburg, to keep playing in the Bundesliga. That would have been nice (but it's not the end of the world that he's leaving). At Wolfsburg's press conference on Thursday, Klaus Allofs denied there was a deal in place between the two clubs, but he had the weary appearance of a man resigned to losing his team's best player. Looking between the lines though, did they ever really want to keep him once they realized how much they could get?

So why leave for Champions League football when you have it at Wolfsburg? Why leave a starting spot in an exciting team currently going through the upward stage of a transition in which you are the leading light? For a squad position in a bulging and overly ambitious side in Manchester that is already purring without you? Money, money, money, as Abba sang back in 1976. How wise those four Swedes were...

For all de Bruyne's magic on the pitch, his decision hasn't thrilled me. Not because I think it's a great loss to the league or because Wolfsburg will struggle without him (the latter is certainly true), but because I believe it gives him less of a chance to become even better as a player. Still, I'm not the first journalist to write in dismay about it and Kevin's not the first footballer to take the money and run. I don't like the move for him. But that's just the way it is. I think there's a song about that too.