Former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan reportedly didn’t feel like the club were interested in offering him a new deal to keep him at the Etihad Stadium.
After spending seven years at the Manchester club, the midfielder joined Barcelona as a free agent once his contract ran out after helping the Citizens win the treble.
Now though, some behind-the-scenes details have emerged regarding how the German international felt during his final few months at City, specifically about how the club handled his contract situation.
Gundogan felt City weren’t interested in new contract
According to a recent report from Sport, Gundogan did not feel that City were interested in renewing his contract at the club, which is apparently what led him to join Barcelona as a free agent.
The report also adds that before the World Cup in Qatar, City were in no rush to see the midfielder sign a new deal, although they were adamant to offer him a one-year deal when he was looking for two years instead.
As the months went by, City then decided to offer him a two-year deal, by which point the German had already decided he wanted to join Barcelona.
During his time with Pep Guardiola’s side, Gundogan scored 60 goals and delivered 40 assists in 304 appearances across all competitions, winning numerous trophies including five Premier League titles.
Since joining Barcelona, the 32-year-old has provided four assists in 11 appearances across La Liga and the Champions League.
In terms of this latest report, the fact that Guardiola was not shy in sharing his hopes of seeing the midfielder stay at City, unless there’s a disconnect between him and the people running the club behind the scenes, shows that they were keen to see Gundogan sign a new deal.
However, if the Citizens were not initially reluctant to offer a two-year deal, this could have resulted in seeing the German continue his journey with the club.
