Ilkay Gundogan Transfer, Barcelona And Manchester City Profit Each Other

Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan left Barcelona to rejoin Manchester City. (X/@FCBarcelona)

JAKARTA - Midfielder Ilkay Gundogan officially left Barcelona and returned to Manchester City. The transfer benefits the two clubs even though Barca released Gundogan for free.

Gundogan has finally only lasted one season at Barca. Likewise, Barca was only able to give this 33-year-old a high salary for only one season even though Gundogan was awarded two years after leaving Man City last season.

Barca did get Gundogan for free because his contract at Man City was over. He captained The Cityzens when he brought the club to a treble 2023 season before deciding to leave for Barca.

However, the Spanish La Liga club must give a high salary to Gundogan. The midfielder who decides to retire from the German national team after Euro 2024 receives a salary of 300 thousand pounds or approximately 6.1 billion rupiahs each week. He also became one of the players with the highest salary at Barca.

Barca only then decided to release Gundogan without a penny even though his contract was still one year away. Not without reason if Barca gave the players free of charge. Barca chose to sacrifice Gundogan in order to register Dani Olmo, a recruiter from RB Leipzig.

Apart from giving Olmo a place, Barca can make savings as well as balance the club's finances. Not only that, the new coach Hansi Flick did not include Gundogan for the team design. Flick also did not play Gundogan in La Liga's first match against Valencia.

Gundogan also chose to leave Barca because it was no longer the first choice in the Flick squad. He also decided to return to the old club, Man City. Moreover, manager Pep Guardiola expressed his willingness to accept Gundogan back. According to The Mirror, Man City is ready to accommodate the player.

It's not without reason that Guardiola welcomes back his former players. What is clear, the team needs a midfielder and Gundogan will back up Rodri.

In addition, Guardiola has an emotional bond with Gundogan. The reason is, he was Guardiola's first signing when he handled Man City replacing Manuel Pellegrini.

Guardiola recruited him from Borussia Dortmund in 2016. He won the English Premier League five times over seven years at the Etihad. Gundogan captained the team when he won the 2023 trending season.

When moving to Man City, Gundogan gets a one-year contract with an additional 12 months option. But most importantly, Gundogan is willing to cut his salary so he can join Man City.

He was likely to be played immediately when Man City played their home game against promoted team Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium, Saturday, August 24, 2024 evening WIB. Man City himself played their first match by beating Chelsea 2-0.