Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has been named on the club's released list ahead of the expiry of his contract at the end of the month.
The Germany international donned the armband for Pep Guardiola's side en route to a famous treble in the 2022-23 season, coming up with several crucial contributions during the business end of the campaign.
Gundogan ended the year with 11 goals and seven assists from 51 games as Man City won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, where the 32-year-old scored twice in the final against Manchester United.
However, the former Borussia Dortmund man has been free to open talks with foreign clubs since entering the last six months of his deal in January, and both Arsenal and Barcelona are thought to be going head-to-head for his signature.
Given his excellent form at the end of the season, Man City are hoping to tie Gundogan down to fresh terms but have not been successful in doing so, apparently due to disagreements over the length of the deal.
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Upon the completion of the campaign, the 20 top-flight teams from the 2022-23 season submitted their released and retained lists to the Premier League, and Gundogan was named on the former for Man City.
While other clubs chose to name their own released and retained lists and confirmed that contract talks were ongoing with some soon-to-be free agents, Man City are yet to do so, but it is believed that negotiations are rumbling on in the background.
However, the treble-winning Citizens are supposedly only offering Gundogan a firm one-year deal with the option of a second, but Barcelona have placed a three-year contract on the table.
The La Liga champions are preparing for life without long-serving fulcrum Sergio Busquets, and Xavi is said to have identified Gundogan as a priority target in the middle of the park.
The German is not believed to have made a decision on his future just yet, though, as he weighs up whether to seek pastures new following a glittering seven-year stay at the Etihad.
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Gundogan was Guardiola's first signing as Man City boss in 2016 and has gone on to represent the Sky Blues on 304 occasions, scoring 60 goals and setting up 40 more.
The ex-Dortmund man - who was voted captain last year after Fernandinho's exit - has won a staggering 14 trophies in a Man City shirt, including five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, two Community Shields and the 2022-23 Champions League.
With Arsenal currently prioritising a move for West Ham United's Declan Rice, Barca are thought to be at the head of the queue for Gundogan's signature, but Xavi's side are drawing up contingency plans should their pursuit of the Germany international end in failure.
According to ESPN, Villarreal's Alex Baena has emerged as an alternative target after the 21-year-old scored 12 goals and provided six assists in 48 games for the Yellow Submarine last season.
However, Baena also made headlines for an altercation with Real Madrid's Federico Valverde over an alleged comment that he made towards the Uruguayan's unborn child after April's La Liga clash, which he denied.
Ben Knapton
