Barcelona 'win race to sign Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan'

Ilkay Gundogan has reportedly chosen to end his association with Manchester City in order to sign for Barcelona.

The midfielder was Pep Guardiola's first signing in 2016 and he has since gone on to secure legendary status at the Etihad Stadium.

Gundogan has collected five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four EFL Cups and featured in the Champions League triumph over Inter Milan earlier this month.

However, in the months before taking his appearance tally to 304, the Germany international's future has been shrouded in uncertainty due to his contract expiring at the end of June.

There have been times since the turn of the year where it has been claimed that an exit is more likely than extending his stay in Manchester, and vice versa during his outstanding conclusion to the season.

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From the start of May onwards, the 32-year-old contributed three doubles, most notably in the FA Cup final as City defeated rivals Manchester United by a 2-1 scoreline.

However, Barcelona, who are focused on securing the services of free agents this summer, have always been lurking in the background with the option of handing Gundogan a fresh challenge.

According to 90min, Gundogan is ready to accept an offer to make the switch to Camp Nou in due course.

The report claims that Gundogan has agreed to pen two-year contract at the La Liga champions with the option of a further 12 months.

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Xavi is known to be an admirer of the former Borussia Dortmund man, making him a priority target at a time when Barcelona also attempted to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers' Ruben Neves.

The Barcelona boss feels that Gundogan has the qualities to make a seamless transition into his team, with the midfield now lacking the presence of Sergio Busquets who is departing on a free transfer.

With Gavi having been formally registered as a first-team player with La Liga in recent days, club officials are less wary of failing to meet the necessary requirements to ensure that Gundogan can play from the start of the season.

Nevertheless, Barcelona will still be required to make mass cutbacks over the coming months, that initially likely to come through the sale of fringe players unless they receive a big-money bid for a sellable asset.