Professional fights for perspective
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Dedryck Boyata played his last league game for FC Bruges in February 2024. The 31-time Belgian national player is on the sidelines at the traditional club and is waiting for the next chance in professional football. In an interview with the “Sporza” portal, the former Hertha and Celtic professional spoke in detail for the first time about his situation, criticized the club’s behavior and explained why, at the age of 34, he still sees his career as far from over.
Boyata, who trained at Manchester City and was once captain of Berlin, moved to his home country in 2022 after three years on the Spree. In Bruges he was unable to consistently meet sporting expectations and was repeatedly set back by injuries. There have only been 26 missions from the past two and a half years. Boyata emphasized in the interview that he had been silent for a long time and “respected all employees and fans,” but that the time had come to tell his side of the story. He has been training separately from the rest of the squad for months and feels isolated, a very stressful situation for the long-time professional.
“They want me to change in a small room where the cleaning staff keeps their things. I refuse. I get my clothes there and just do it in the changing room. And because I’m only allowed to train in the afternoon, I can no longer eat in the club. This way they want to make sure that I don’t have any contact with my teammates. It’s like I have a highly contagious disease.”
He no longer has the opportunity to play and show himself in the second team or in friendly matches. “The way I am being treated is disrespectful. Should I feel valued because I can continue to use the club’s facilities? They say they respect me, but that is not reflected in the way they treat me.” In his opinion, it was also difficult to find a new club after Brugge made it clear to him in the summer that he no longer have any perspective. Boyata is said to be one of the top earners in the club, with his rumored annual salary at €3 million.
After the “Sporza” interview, Bruges announced that Boyata had been offered a contract termination in August, including 20 percent compensation of his wages, and that he had been transparently informed about his prospects. However, the player rejected the offer. “I would have suffered financial losses and didn’t want to go abroad. “I didn’t want to take my wife and my son, who was just starting school, out of Belgium again,” said the central defender.
When the transfer window closed in September, he was again offered a termination of his employment contract, this time with up to 60 percent compensation. “If they had done that at the beginning of the summer, I would have accepted the offer. Then I would have had enough time to find another team that might have taken on another part of my salary,” said Boyata. As it was, according to his own statements, he could have only gone to Saudi Arabia or Turkey in early autumn and might not have been eligible to play until January.
It remains to be seen whether there will be a buyer for the defender in the winter or whether he will have to remain on the sidelines in Bruges until his working paper expires in 2025. “In the meantime, his contract will be respected as with any employee,” the Belgian first division club said.
Boyata left no doubt that he still feels fit enough and capable of playing football at the highest level: “I’m not 25 anymore and I won’t be the best player in the world, but I’ll have the rhythm of the game I can still give and help the clubs a lot in my legs. I hope the opportunity comes soon.”
