Ilkay Gundogan, a seasoned midfielder, has been officially signed by Barcelona on a free transfer from Manchester City.
The 32-year-old was slated to leave Manchester City this summer as his contract was up. Barça had been putting a lot of effort into getting him signed for a very long time.
And Barcelona was successful in persuading the German international to move to Catalonia despite opposition from Arsenal, Saudi Arabia, and Manchester City.
Last week, a deal with the player was completed, and director Mateu Alemany travelled to Munich to seal the deal.
And now that the transfer has been formally approved, the Blaugrana can start the summer off right.
Gundogan has agreed to a two-year deal with Barcelona that runs through the summer of 2025. He also has a one-year extension option, which will probably be exercised depending on how many appearances he makes in his second season with the club.
A release clause worth €400 million is also included in the contract of the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder.
Gundogan will be hoping to achieve a similar level of success at Barcelona in the upcoming years after recently guiding Manchester City to a historic treble this past season.
After helping Manchester City to win a back to back English Premier League and also the Champions League, Gundogan is looking forward to achieve some at FC Barcelona.
These were his words as he joined FC Barcelona;
“If I was going to move, there is only one club in the world that made sense. It was Barcelona or nothing. Ever since I was a little kid, I dreamed of wearing that shirt some day. I am confident that I have a few more years left at the highest level, and I just want to help bring Barcelona back to where they deserve to be. I can’t wait to play in the Barcelona shirt.”
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