The newspaper “Sport” caused a huge surprise when it revealed that the Barcelona administration is ready to listen to the offers submitted by the clubs to sign Ilkay Gundogan in the current summer Mercato.
Despite the German star’s brilliance with the Catalan club last season, and Joan Laporta’s management’s appreciation for the player’s abilities, the difficult economic situation is the reason behind opening the door to his departure.
Barcelona needs to reach a certain salary ceiling in line with the rules of fair financial play, which made the administration conclude that Gundogan’s departure may be necessary even if it is not for a large financial reward.
On the player side, Gundogan initially does not want to leave, and the club does not want to force him to leave either, but the idea of listening to the offers made to him has found great administrative momentum in the past hours.
The 33-year-old’s departure will not be to make money, but to free up salary space that will allow the club to sign new players in line with the very strict Financial Fair Play rules.
At the end of its report, “Sport” emphasized that all options are wide open for all Barcelona players, almost without exception, and it cannot be certain that a player will remain at Camp Nou until the end of the summer Mercato.
It is noteworthy that Gundogan joined Barcelona after the end of his contract with Manchester City, and during last season he scored 5 goals and assisted 14 others, and his contract is still extended for another year, with the option to renew for an additional year.
