Ilkay Gundogan will officially complete a move to Barcelona.
The star is leaving Manchester City to embark on a new challenge, after weeks of speculation.
Gundogan has decided to join the Spanish giants and work with Xavi, who is one of his footballing idols.
Robert Lewandowski helped to persuade the Germany international to make the move.
There was strong potential for City to keep Gundogan.
But ultimately, City’s desire fell short for the 32-year-old. Details of what was offered to him have now been published.
Ilkay Gundogan was offered £13.7 million after tax by Manchester City, but lack of guaranteed two years was the dealbreaker
According to The Athletic, Gundogan received a few proposals from City to extend his stay.
Apparently, they initially proposed a one-year extension, with a potential option for a second year. This offer ‘included a lower annual salary than what Gundogan was earning’.
City then presented another offer.
With the second offer, the maximum amount Gundogan would have received was around €16 million (£13.7 million) after tax, if the second-season option was triggered.
The player’s camp was said to be ‘not fully convinced by this’.
City made a final proposal just before the FA Cup final.
This one was another ‘1+1’ offer.
This was for a slightly higher salary than he had been on. Very interestingly, it is then stated that ‘there has been a feeling at City in recent days that if they had offered two guaranteed years with the same conditions, he would have chosen to stay’.
Man City didn’t have to lose Ilkay Gundogan, despite Barcelona being his dream
The report from The Athletic makes for really interesting reading.
It is very clear, if everything they say is true, that City did not have to lose Gundogan this summer.
The star was happy to stay for the right terms.
But the terms offered to him just didn’t match up with what he wanted.
It is mentioned in the report that Gundogan became a father earlier this year. From that point on, the ‘stability of a longer project had become increasingly attractive.’
You can understand City being reluctant to offer 2+1 like Barca. But you can also understand Gundogan not wanting to accept anything less than that.
