Pep Guardiola says he ‘wishes’ Ilkay Gundogan stays at Man City as captain admits he hasn’t made a decision over his future following release from the club
- Whilst the captain could stay at the Etihad, a deal is yet to have been agreed
- Barcelona have been keenly tracking the midfielder to replace Sergio Busquets
- The Spanish outfit have offered the 32-year-old a three-year deal
Pep Guardiola says he wants Ilkay Gundogan to stay at Manchester City despite the midfielder having been released from the club over the weekend.
Gundogan’s name was published amongst a list of players whose contracts have expired, and whilst it may not mean that the midfielder is set to leave the club, it highlights the uncertainty lingering over his future at the Etihad.
Barcelona have offered the German a three-year contract while there have been tenuous links with a move to Arsenal.
Speaking about the situation on Monday, Guardiola said: ‘yes, I’m hearing Barcelona is interested in him, but I’m also hearing Manchester City is very interested too!
‘I wish he can stay with us, but if at the end Gundogan decides to join Barcelona I can only say they will do an extraordinary signing.
Pep Guardiola says he wishes that Ilkay Gundogan will stay at Manchester City
Gundogan has been released from Man City but could yet sign a new deal with his side
‘I know Xavi has spoken a lot of times with Gundogan. He has not told me whether he prefers to stay or leave. We just got time to celebrate a lot recently!’
And Gundogan admits he is yet to decide wheree he’ll be playing his football next season.
He said: ‘(There’s) no decision yet, talks (are) ongoing. You’ll be the first to know once a decision has been made.’
Gundogan added that it was ‘not necessary for (Guardiola) to praise me like that, we have known each other for seven years, there’s a lot of mutual respect between us, we are very open and honest with each other.’
