Manchester City were experiencing a wonderful summer after achieving their first ever European treble but the celebrations were saddened by a certain news of their Treble winning captain Ilkay Gundogan leaving for FC Barcelona on a free transfer.
The 32-year-old was expected to sign a contract extension and the fans were sure that City will tie him down to another long-term contract. However, out of everyone’s expectation, the Germany born Midfielder shocked everyone. The news could have been called Fake but when renowned Journalist Fabrizio Romano confirms, the news has to be authentic.
Ilkay Gündogan to Barcelona, here we go! Final approval arrived on club side to register him as new signing, green light from the player. It’s done deal, signed few minutes ago. 🚨🔵🔴 #FCB
Gündogan has agreed a two year deal valid until June 2025 with option for further year. pic.twitter.com/Gr467hNBms
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 21, 2023
He will be joining 5-time UEFA Champions League winners FC Barcelona for free on a 2-year deal. Ilkay Gundogan was reportedly always keen on joining the Catalonia based club after spending 7 wonderful years at Manchester City. He was Pep Guardiola’s first signing when he arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2016 and at last his journey with the blue half of Manchester has come to an end.
Major highlights of Ilkay Gundogan during his 7-year stay at the Etihad
Ilkay Gundogan has been monumental for City’s success especially in the last 3 seasons. He experienced his most prolific season for the Sky blues during the 2020/21 season. He was City’s top scorer that season (17) despite the club having forward players like Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero.
His efforts saw the Cityzens go from 13th to 1st spot in PL before they lost their maiden UCL Final appearance against Chelsea. In 2021/22, Gundogan was the reason why City successfully defended the PL title on the final day of the season.
City took on Aston Villa in the title decider and were trailing by 1-0 in the first-half. Then Gundogan came in for Bernardo Silva in the 68th minute but Villa doubled their lead just a minute later. But that’s when Gundogan stepped up and became a prime example of the quote “Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man”.
7 minutes after Villa made it 2-0, Raheem Sterling’s looping cross found Gundo at the far post with the latter heading the ball in. 2 minutes later another cult hero, Rodri scored the equalizer before Kevin De Bruyne displayed his excellence with a pin point cross to Gundo who was again the far post, this time to win it for City in front of almost 55, 000 people.
And during the recently concluded 2022/23 season, Mr. Whippy became the club’s first captain to lift the UEFA Champions League, FA Cup and PL title all at once. Gundogan not only enriched City’s history but also engraved himself into the very depth of it.
Pep Guardiola's first Man City signing, İlkay Gündoğan, looks set for Barcelona 🇪🇸
🏟 304 appearances
⚽️ 60 goals
🅰️ 40 assists
🏆 14 trophies pic.twitter.com/6lP9XGlH5u— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) June 22, 2023
He will leave the club after winning 14 Trophies (5 Premier Leagues, 4 EFL Cups, 2 FA Cups, 2 Community Shields and 1 UEFA Champions League).
Details of Gundogan’s agreement with FC Barcelona
Reports from Europe indicated that Barca have given the final approvals on registering him as a new signing.
It’s a done deal which was signed yesterday after the final discussion in Germany managed by Barcelona board. Gundogan has agreed a two year deal valid until June 2025 with option for further year, June 2026 and has a release clause worth €500m.
