Former Premier League striker Glenn Murray has said he can’t believe that Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez have left Manchester City this summer.
After Gundogan joined Barcelona as a free agent, Mahrez made a move to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli in a deal worth £30m.
With the new season now close to starting, one former top-flight player has had his say on these two exits from the Etihad Stadium.
Murray baffled by City exits
Speaking in a recent edition of the Football Daily podcast, Murray said this about Gundogan and Mahrez’s departures.
He said: “I’m not going to lie I was surprised, I thought that Gundogan, he played a huge role in the last three games of the season.
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“And Mahrez leaving at such an early age so for him to go out to Saudi and leave the Champions League holders at this point surprised me I must admit.”
As City’s captain, Gundogan ended up making 51 appearances last season in all competitions, starting 45 of them, which highlights how important he was for the team in their journey to secure their titles.
With Mahrez, he made 47 appearances for the Citizens last season, scoring 15 goals and delivering 13 assists in the process, which shows how useful he was in terms of being a goal threat.
Bearing in mind how City won the treble at the end of last season, this could be why Murray finds it surprising that these two players have decided to walk away from being a part of such a successful team.
Now that the new Premier League campaign is close to starting, with the champions opening their season with an away trip to take on Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, it will be interesting to see how the club fares without the experience and talent that Gundogan and Mahrez have given them for such a long time.