Transfer Centre

Barcelona 'ready to offer Ilkay Gundogan two-year contract'

By Ben Knapton, Senior Reporter | 02 April 2023

Barcelona reportedly prepare to offer Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan a two-year contract, as opposed to the one-year extension on the table at the Etihad.

Barcelona are reportedly ready to offer Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan a two-year contract to make the move to Camp Nou this summer.

The Germany international continues to run down the final few months of his deal with the Premier League champions and will be free to leave at the end of the season as things stand.

Barcelona quickly identified Gundogan as an ideal, low-cost signing to bolster their midfield ranks, which could be thinned by the possible exit of Sergio Busquets this summer.

Man City have not ruled out a contract extension for the 32-year-old, though, and his agent and uncle Ilhan Gundogan recently affirmed that his client's future remains undecided.

"There's definitely no agreement yet with any club," The Guardian quotes Ilhan Gundogan as saying when questioned on reports of a pre-contract agreement with Barcelona.

Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan wears a rainbow coloured armband on October 29, 2022 © Reuters

"The focus of Ilkay in recent weeks was only on Manchester City and the birth of his son. Now he is in the final and crucial phase of the season and is completely focused on that. Where Ilkay plays next season is still open."

According to The Sun, Man City would be willing to sanction a contract extension for Gundogan, but the Premier League champions are only prepared to offer the midfielder a one-year deal.

In contrast, Barcelona are readying a two-year contract offer until the summer of 2025, and La Blaugrana have informed his representatives of their stance.

Gundogan - who is understood to be happy and settled in Manchester - has supposedly promised his current club that he will soon come to a decision on his future amid persistent links with Barcelona.

However, it has been claimed that Gundogan's wife is growing tired of living in the United Kingdom and is yearning for the change of scene that Catalonia would bring.

Ilkay Gundogan scores for Manchester City on August 21, 2022 © Reuters

Gundogan was promoted to team captain by his fellow squad members after Fernandinho's exit last summer, and the ex-Borussia Dortmund man has posted 54 goals and 37 assists from 291 games for Man City in all tournaments.

The City skipper has amassed five goals and four assists from 38 matches in the current campaign, netting his side's third in their 4-1 win over Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime.

Barcelona were initially thought to have been plotting a move for Gundogan's teammate Bernardo Silva, whose desire to leave the Etihad was made public by Pep Guardiola last year.

However, with Silva still under contract in Manchester for another two years, the Citizens are not willing to let him leave for anything less than £60m in the upcoming window.

As a result, Barcelona have switched their attention to a possible free transfer for Gundogan, with the Blaugrana once again prioritising cut-price moves given their volatile financial situation.