A week ago the football director of FC Barcelona, Mateu Alemany, met telematically with Ilhan Gündogan, the agent and uncle of Ilkay Gündogan. The Manchester City footballer is Xavi's favorite to occupy the inside position. The coach wants his services to free Pedri from having to play all the games. Beyond the talent of the captain of the team that has been crowned European champion, Barcelona sees the German footballer as a market opportunity, as he would arrive on a free transfer.
After the conversation held, Gündogan chose to have a few days of reflection to make a decision. And the Barcelona club expects to know its verdict at the end of this week. Feelings are relatively optimistic, since Barcelona has a strong competitor. Pep Guardiola's City are not ready to let their captain escape. What's more, he wants to renew it for two seasons. "It is difficult to compete with Pep Guardiola and Txiki Begiristain. But let's not throw in the towel", say the offices of the sports city.
Barcelona is not in a position to make big financial offers due to its excessive wage bill. They must continue to reduce at least 150 million euros and Gündogan knows the difficulties. On the other hand, on the other side of the board, Manchester City navigates in completely opposite conditions with a high budget and with the memory of the treble very recent. "I don't know Gündogan's intentions. These days we've had a lot of fun celebrating," said Pep Guardiola, who traveled to Barcelona to start his family vacation. A great lover of golf, Guardiola sponsored the fifth edition of the Legends Trophy, the golf tournament contested exclusively by ex-athletes at the Empordà Golf Club. The profits will go to the Guardiola Sala Foundation, which will allocate them to different charity projects.
Although he was unable to play on the first day of the tournament due to back problems, Guardiola reviewed current football events. "As far as I know, we are still fighting for Gündogan to stay with us. Barça wants him and I know that Xavi has called him many times", he pointed out with an ironic smile. Xavi has had a total of three conversations with the German footballer.
"We love him because he has been very important. And if he decides to sign for Barcelona I will tell him that he will have a great time and I will acknowledge to Laporta that they have made a great signing", reflected Guardiola, who had dinner with the Barcelona president at the Botafumeiro restaurant on Sunday night. "We always see each other once a year. I had stayed with my son Màrius and Xavier Sala Martín. The president added to it", said Guardiola, who defended the management of the highest representative. "The previous managers spent 400 million on three players. Let everyone assume their responsibility. Laporta is making a titanic effort", he reflected before ruling out, one more day, returning to the Barcelona bench. He didn't go into whether he would do it in another position. "Xavi has won the League. It needs more time. And when he decides that his stage is over then Busquets or someone else will come. My time as a technician is over," he insisted. The coach of Santpedor also denied the version of Xavi, who explained that City stood in the way of Barcelona to be able to sign Cancelo in the last winter market. "Xavi was misinformed. The reality is that we decided that Cancelo had to leave. We don't care where it goes. As if he is going to United, which is our biggest rival. There was no offer from Barça for him. Yes, there was some from Bayern", said Guardiola with a serious look. Yes, there is an offer for Gündogan, who from the concentration of the German selection, spoke about his future. He continues to pluck the daisy between Barça and City. "I haven't decided yet. Barcelona is a beautiful city", he said. His decision will come at the end of the week.
