Kevin De Bruyne insists it was the 'obvious choice' to leave Chelsea

Kevin De Bruyne is now a key player for Manchester City

Kevin De Bruyne has claimed leaving Chelsea was the 'obvious choice' and he did not care about impressing Jose Mourinho during his time at the club.

Moving to Stamford Bridge in 2012 from Belgium side Genk, De Bruyne was then sent on loan to Werder Bremen and on his return it was expected he would play a prominent role in the first team.

De Bruyne was excellent during his time with Wolfsburg

However, he would feature only nine times, making just three Premier League appearances, before heading back to the Bundesliga, this time with Wolfsburg in 2014, where he would go onto be crowned footballer of the year in Germany for his stellar performances.

Now with Manchester City, De Bruyne is a central figure following his £55million move in August 2015 and has praised Pep Guardiola for taking the club onto a higher level.

"I've no idea and I don't care [why he never won over Mourinho]. I waited four months, then I said to myself that wanted to play football every week," he told FourFourTwo.

De Bruyne played just nine times for Chelsea

"I couldn't get the game time I wanted, so leaving was the obvious choice.

"I wanted to start a new chapter - not be loaned out and come back to the exact same situation. It was a really smart move on my part. But of all the choices I have made in my career, I don't regret one of them - even going to Chelsea. It didn't work out. I wanted to play football; I didn't; so I left."

Speaking about the former Barcelona boss who took charge this summer, De Bruyne said: "It's not like he [Guardiola] has changed a lot - football is still football - but it's his eye for detail that counts."