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.

https://twitter.com/FCBarcelona_cat/status/1673239842019241984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1673239842019241984%7Ctwgr%5E2b45650606043b7f551d264ac36e5dff9423a02d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fbarcauniversal.com%2Fofficial-barcelona-sign-ilkay-gundogan%2F

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.”

Tags: Barcelona Signs Ilkay Gundogan