Ilkay Gundogan will play again for Manchester City. There is no longer any doubt: according to Asthe German midfielder has already made the decision to return to his former club after speaking to Pep Guardiola, who gave the green light to his return. A year ago he failed to convince him to stay in England because of his firm intention to move to Barcelona, the club where he had always dreamed of playing. For this reason he had rejected all offers of renewal of the Citizens and he left just weeks after lifting the Champions League.
So, 12 months later, Gundogan will return to England for free, just as he left: Barcelona are not in a position to ask for money for a player who is blocking the registration of Dani Olmo. The former Borussia Dortmund player had no intention of leaving but was forced to leave for financial reasons: his salary weighs around 20 million gross.
The 34-year-old’s understanding with the reigning English champions will be easy to find: Gundogan had offers from Saudi Arabia and Turkey but still wants to be a protagonist in Europe’s most important championship. He played 51 games (out of 53 total) for the Blaugrana, becoming the player most used by Xavi Hernández.
LAST MINUTE!
🔙🔵 Gündogan is returning from Barcelona to Manchester… one year later!
➡️ https://t.co/tzfzRsjw7x pic.twitter.com/tYOkqzlrqm
— AS Diary (@diarioas) August 20, 2024