The Times’ Paul Hirst has revealed one of the key factors that could decide Ilkay Gundogan’s future.
Manchester City club captain Ilkay Gundogan showed his importance to the team once again on Saturday, scoring twice against rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
However, the midfielder’s future is far from certain. The 32-year-old is in the final weeks of his current contract, and as of yet he has not decided where he will play next season.
City are understood to be desperate to keep Gundogan, but Barcelona are attempting to lure him to Spain.
Multiple reports have claimed that the Spanish champions have put a two-year deal on the table – Gundogan’s preferred contract length – whereas City would prefer to offer a one-year contract.
However, The Times’ Paul Hirst has explained that another factor could have a greater impact on the player’s decision.
Gundogan’s reservations
Speaking on The Times’ The Game podcast, Hirst said:
“I think three or four weeks ago I would have said he was definitely off to Barcelona, but the more I hear the more he’s giving more consideration to staying at City.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily down to give him the money or the extra year, it’s just about him deciding where wants to go in his career.
“The last few weeks have certainly opened his eyes to where this team is going, this is a potential treble-winning team.
“A few weeks ago I was told that one of the concerns Gundogan had about Barcelona – despite the fact that he loves the city, he spends a lot of time there and the club has a lot of history – is the mess that they are in terms of their finances.
“What he didn’t want was to go there and be in the same situation that [a few players] were in last year. There were a few that turned up on free transfers but they couldn’t register them, so they were in a kind of holding pattern.
“They were free agents, had been promised a contract, but they couldn’t be registered with the league.
“If you’re Ilkay Gundogan, you don’t want to be doing that do you? You’re a potential Champions League winner this time next week.
“City are pushing really hard to try and persuade him to stay. We won’t hear anything definitively on it this week. They’ll get the Champions League final over with first, but City are pushing very hard.”
On Monday, Gundogan’s agent denied reports that his client had reached an agreement to stay with City.
“Nothing has been agreed with City or any other club. The recent reports are not true. Ilkay is only focused on the [Champions League] final,” he said.
