Spanish newspaper Sport reported that Man City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has agreed to join Barca on a free form this summer.
This week, Barca’s sporting director Mateu Alemany and Barca’s sporting advisor Jordi Cruyff met with Gundogan’s agent and uncle Ihan Gundogan at the club’s Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper center.

Alemany and Cruyff have a close relationship with Ihan, because he is also the agent of midfielder Andreas Christensen. Gundogan’s contract with Man City is due to expire at the end of this season, and the German midfielder has rejected the Blue Man’s extension offer to switch to Barca on a free form in the summer of 2023.

According to Sport, Gundogan has agreed to sign a two-year contract with Barca, with an option to extend it for another year. At Camp Nou, the 32-year-old star will receive a salary of 12 million euros per season. If these figures are correct, this would go against president Joan Laporta’s policy of no player receiving wages of more than 10 million euros per season. Of course, at the current Barca, the case of Robert Lewandowski is an exception.

According to Marca, Lewandowski pocketed 10 million euros in net salary this season, increasing to 13 million euros in the 2023/24 season and 16 million euros in the 2024/25 season. In the 2025/26 season, Lewy’s salary will return to the €13 million mark. After that, the Polish striker will not be tied to the club.

Returning to Gundogan, Man City’s stellar performance in City’s 3-0 win over Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals showed that the player remains a top midfielder, despite being 32 years old. The presence of the former Dortmund star promises to add experience to Barca’s youthful squad, while also having a positive influence on the likes of Pedri and Gavi in the midfield.

If the budget is abundant, Barca can even approach Bernardo Silva – Gundogan’s teammate at Man City – before the 2023 summer market closes.