Ilkay Gundogan, Joao Cancelo To Bid Farewell to Manchester City?

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged Barcelona’s interest in midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and full-back Joao Cancelo.

Speaking about Gundogan, Guardiola expressed his desire to keep the player at Manchester City, stating, “I’m aware of Barcelona’s interest in signing [Gundogan], but we’re also very interested in keeping him at the club! I hope he stays with us.”

He praised Gundogan as a fantastic player and acknowledged that Barcelona would benefit from signing him.

Gundogan, who has been with Manchester City since 2016 and has won 14 trophies with the club, is facing an uncertain future as his contract expires at the end of the month.

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While on international duty with Germany, Gundogan commented that no decision had been made yet about his future and that he was still deciding where he wanted to play next season. In dealing with financial constraints, Barcelona is reportedly interested in recruiting Gundogan on a free transfer to strengthen their midfield options.

In addition to Barcelona, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal has shown interest in Gundogan. However, Arsenal’s primary focus seems to be signing Declan Rice from West Ham United for a reported £120 million fee.

Regarding Joao Cancelo, Guardiola addressed the reported interest from Barcelona and clarified that Manchester City had not received any bids or proposals for the full-back.

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Guardiola also commented on Xavi’s statement about Cancelo’s availability in January, saying that Xavi was misinformed and far from reality. “He has been misinformed,” Guardiola added, as quoted by Sport. “He is far from reality. We decided that Joao had to leave and we didn’t care where, as if he wanted to go to Manchester United, who are the city rivals.

“I’m not saying Xavi was lied to, but I’m saying he was misinformed. Joao went to Bayern because Bayern wanted him. We didn’t get an offer from Barca.”

Xavi had previously confirmed Barcelona’s interest in Cancelo, but the club’s financial situation may impact their ability to sign the player. Cancelo is expected to be sold by Manchester City this summer, with a potential price tag of around £35 million.

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