FC Barcelona Ilkay Gundogan transfer return to Manchester City latest update

Manchester City could make a crazy move to get back former leader Ilkay Gundogan, who left for Barcelona on a free transfer a little over a year ago.

Ilkay Gundogan left Manchester City last summer after seven trophy-filled years, and it seemed impossible that he would ever come back. But now he is.

Even though Barcelona said they couldn’t afford to keep Gundogan, he wants to go back to City. City has been warned after Barcelona said they had to sell Gundogan to meet spending limits and make room for Dani Olmo, who they bought from RB Leipzig for £50 million.

Gundogan, who is 33 years old, is thought to make just over £300,000 a week at Barcelona, where his deal runs until 2026. They want to get rid of him so they can register Olmo with La Liga. A league in Saudi Arabia wants to sign Gundogan, and other leagues in the Middle East are also interested in the general midfielder, but he would rather go back to the Etihad.

Gundogan left City for free almost 14 months ago, after helping them win the Champions League and becoming their captain for the Treble. When Pep Guardiola joined the Catalans in 2016, he was his first signing. In 304 games, he scored 60 goals and set up 37 others, and he helped them win 12 big titles.

Guardiola wants a player to help Rodri with some of his heavy workload, and he has also let Kalvin Phillips go on loan to Ipswich. He thinks he’s light in the middle of the park, and City hasn’t been able to find the right person yet.

All of that changes now that Gundogan is available, and the winners are very interested in him. He’s smart enough to play in the middle, which is something Guardiola likes, and he could go right back in.

However, his play for Barcelona last season—in which he scored five goals and made enough starts to add a further year to his contract—showed that he still has a lot of energy left. He will be 34 years old in October.

Several Premier League teams have also been told that Gundogan is available, but his salary demands may mean that only City can offer him a deal in England. Gundogan and Olmo were both left out of Barcelona’s first-day win at Valencia, which made manager Hansi Flick angry about the club’s money problems off the field.