On Monday, Catalunya Ràdio reported Manchester City are ready to open the door to bring İlkay Gündoğan back to the club. It was also stated Barcelona are ready to facilitate a transfer this summer.
Tuesday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo relays it and then state that Manchester City are the ‘favourite’ to sign the 33-year-old. Their title says ‘Gündoğan agrees to leave’.
Pep Guardiola was keen on retaining the midfielder, but he left Manchester City to join Barca for free in 2023.
Gündoğan has been made aware that he won’t have a prominent role this season, after a chat with Hansi Flick on Thursday. He wasn’t planning to leave the Camp Nou, but recent developments have made the German change his stance.
The former Borussia Dortmund star earns €20m gross per year at the Camp Nou. His exit can help Barca utilise 70% [€14m] of that to register some of their players.
Manchester City are the ‘favourite’ option because Guardiola would be willing to bring him back to the club. There’s also claims from elsewhere about interest from Galatasaray and Al-Nassr.
Over at Sport, they state the player is close to leaving the Catalan club. He and his camp are studying offers before making the final decision.
It’s claimed Gündoğan’s entourage have contacted the Premier League winners to find out the possibility of returning to the Etihad. Manchester City seem to be open to carrying out a deal because of Guardiola’s desire.
His deal lasts until 2025, and Sport say his idea is to leave as a free agent. This can allow Manchester City to carry out a favourable deal in this window.
Gündoğan has received offers from Al-Nassr and Qatar, while Galatasaray are interested in securing his services.
