Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne says the coronavirus-imposed lockdown has convinced him to extend his career.
The midfielder, 28, has been training at home during the Premier League shutdown, where he has spent his free time with his family.
De Bruyne had initially been isolating for two weeks because his wife and two young children were ill. However, he assured those tuning into his Instagram Live session with Belgian teammates Axel Witsel and Romelu Lukaku that everyone was feeling better.
De Bruyne also confirmed the current situation had ensured he would not be taking football for granted.
“I told my wife I’m going to play a little longer,” said the Belgium international, who has spent the past five seasons at City. “After this lockdown. I cannot stay at home. I told her I’m going to take two years more.
“It’s time to play football again. I miss it and it’s difficult. But we are not important; football is not important. People love football, but you need to stay safe.
“I’ve been at home now for two weeks. At the beginning, my family and my kids were a little bit sick so that was a little bit worrying.
"But they are alright now. It took eight or nine days, we don’t know, but now they are better luckily as you never know what is going to happen.
“People ask why I’m not in Belgium. It’s because I’m self-isolating in England. I live here so I'm here with my kids and wife.”
Asked to choose a best XI from his past and current teammates, De Bruyne had special praise for former City winger Jadon Sancho, now at Borussia Dortmund.
“Sancho is crazy,” De Bruyne said. “It’s weird, I trained a few times with him and he was gone. Unbelievable. Sometimes it goes like this, but it is good for him. Now if you want him you have to pay ... I don’t want to know.”
De Bruyne added: "The most underrated player is Fernandinho. A lot of people don't know what he does unless you play with him. He's also 35 [sic] and you see what he does - it's crazy."
