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The 33-year-old, who was signed from Wolfsburg in August 2015, has clinched the Premier League title six times, the Champions League once, the FA Cup twice and the Club World Cup among other major honours.

Sky Sport Italy claimed on Wednesday that Liverpool has joined the race for De Bruyne and have put forward a contract offer.

If Liverpool is considering an audacious swoop for De Bruyne, the Reds are bound by regulations to hold off until June before they can initiate pre-contract discussions with the City maestro.

While De Bruyne has been free to engage with overseas teams from January regarding a summer move, the same isn't true within the Premier League's own market.

The rules of the game state that English clubs must wait until a player is in the last month of their contract before negotiating

This is affirmed by Article 18.3 from FIFA, which mandates: "A club intending to conclude a contract with a professional must inform the player's current club in writing before entering into negotiations with him."

"A professional shall only be free to conclude a contract with another club if his contract with his present club has expired or is due to expire within six months

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Domestically, however, these constraints are even tighter, as the Premier League dictates you can't start conversations with a player from another team till there's less than a solitary month left on their contract.

So, the Reds will have to play the waiting game if they decide they want to lure De Bruyne as he approaches the prospect of being out of contract, especially since he’s a player who has clinched the Premier League title on multiple occasions.