Pundit Craig Burley has suggested that making a move to Barcelona could be a tempting prospect for Ilkay Gundogan this summer.
With his contract at Manchester City set to expire at the end of the month, the midfielder has been linked with clubs such as Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.
Another club that have been sniffing around the 32-year-old is Barcelona, with Xavi reportedly very keen to secure a deal for the City captain.
After winning the treble with Pep Guardiola’s side, the midfielder’s future has been the topic of conversation, with one pundit making a significant argument for the player to make a move to the La Liga club.
Burley claims Barcelona move would tempt Gundogan
Speaking in a recent video from the ESPN FC YouTube channel, Burley had this to say when discussing Barcelona as a potential destination for Gundogan this summer.
He said: “Not to diminish other clubs but Real Madrid and Barcelona, I’ve always said it, they’re still iconic in a player’s resume if you ever get the chance to play there. Not necessarily always the best teams but just to go out and play at the Bernabeu or the Camp Nou, it’s a big draw.
“You’ve got a young coach in Xavi, [Robert] Lewandowski is not going to be going away, certainly for the next year or so. You get the chance to work with the Pedris, the Xavis and the Ansu Fatis, these young boys that are looking for a bit of experience around them.
“You have, obviously the lifestyle from living in Barcelona, the difference in temperature.
“The fact he’s 32, he might be thinking Man City is a great club, certainly under the Middle Eastern ownership with the money.
“It was a great club before but it was a very topsy turvy, up and down the leagues club, now it’s a hugely successful one with a lot of money, albeit a lot of that money has been investigated for financial doping.
“All that success that they’ve had and the way they play and the players that he’s playing with are great but he might look at it and say ’32, if I sign a two-year deal, 34, the Barca thing is gone, so I’m going to take this opportunity to go, play for a great club, a huge club, for a young manager and have a change of scenery.’
“That’s nothing against Man City or his teammates because they are the best at the moment, it’s just the allure of going to Spain and a club like Barcelona. I think that could just tip the scales for him.”
Since joining City back in 2016 from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth £20m, Gundogan has completed seven season with the club, winning five Premier League titles and one Champions League, among other domestic trophies.
With Guardiola recently sharing his hopes of seeing the midfielder sign a new deal at City but admitting he hasn’t been told by Gundogan what his preference is in terms of his future, it seems that this particular saga will become clearer once the player makes his decision.
In our view, if a change of scenery is the main factor in the 32-year-old’s thinking, there isn’t much City can do to change that particular aspect.
Although if there is a chance Gundogan would be willing to sign a new deal at the Etihad, the club should do everything they can to make that happen.
