Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne ‘sued for £1.4m in dispute over image rights’
It's not what the Belgian winger wanted to go through ahead of the big Manchester derby this weekend
KEVIN DE BRUYNE is being sued for £1.4million in a dispute over image rights, according to reports in Belgium.
The Belgian midfielder has had an outstanding season to inspire Manchester City to an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
But De Bruyne has now been summoned to appear in a Luxembourg court.
City officials and KDB's kit sponsors Nike may have to give evidence as well.
The news is a blow to the 26-year-old as he prepares for Sunday's Manchester derby at Old Trafford.
Former Chelsea starlet De Bruyne struck a deal with a Luxembourg company called Image Rights when joining the Blues from Genk in 2012.
With their help he set up the KHDB firm in the principality to legally avoid taxes on his off-field earnings in the UK.
However De Bruyne soon left to play in Germany for Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg, leaving KHDB bereft of income.
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Image Rights boss Fabrice Louette has now alleged he and other shareholders were dumped from KHDB around the time of De Bruyne's £58million move to City in 2015 - leaving the player's dad Herwig in sole charge of the company.
Image Rights claim their contract with De Bruyne has never been terminated, and are demanding £1.4m from him - plus a £4,400 daily penalty for non-payment.
De Bruyne's lawyers have refused to comment beyond saying they will present a strong case before the Luxembourg court.