Why 'desperate' Barcelona are axeing 'essential' Ilkay Gundogan (2024)

Fifteen months ago, Ilkay Gundogan lifted the Champions League trophy aloft in Istanbul after leading Manchester City to an unprecedented Treble.

The German midfielder had arguably been City's most important player in the run-in, chipping in with a number of vital goals, to write his name into the club's history books forever.

Having been an underrated part of Pep Guardiola's winning machine, Gundogan had the world at his feet and his destiny very much in his own hands.

Did he want to stay at City to continue their dominance, or was it time for a fresh challenge? He opted for the latter and chose to join Barcelona on a free transfer.

But now, a little over a year later, he is looking for another new club with his time at the Catalan giants seemingly over already. Which begs the question: where has it all gone wrong for him at Barcelona?

After all, moving to Catalonia with his actress and model wife Sara Arfaoui was his dream, but now it all looks set to end, and much quicker than anyone could have anticipated.

As has often been the case at Barcelona in recent years, money appears to be a major factor in Gundogan's imminent exit.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Gundogan earns around €20m-a-year (£17m-a-year) at Barcelona, and is categorised as a 'franchise player' due to his salary being over five per cent of the club's total wage bill.

The Spanish outfit have been battling with money issues for a number of seasons, and were fined £434,000 for breaching UEFA's financial rules last year.

Therefore, they find themselves in a 'desperate' situation where they need to raise funds just to register players, including Euro 2024 winner Dani Olmo, who signed for the club earlier this month.

Getting rid of Gundogan would reportedly free up €14m (£12m) in the club's fair play budget, and could allow Barcelona to reinvest 70 per cent of these savings into new signings.

But isn't Gundogan one of the first names on the teamsheet?

Well, last season he was, and he had no intention of leaving at the start of the summer, according to Relevo. Now, things have changed.

The 33-year-old was deemed 'essential' by Xavi and featured in 36 LaLiga games in 2023-24. One of the two games he missed was due to suspension.

Gundogan scored five goals and recorded nine assists in LaLiga last season, proving himself an asset to the team.

Yet Xavi departed at the end of the campaign and has since been replaced by Hansi Flick.

The former Germany boss wants to put his own stamp on the team, and does not consider Gundogan to be a crucial player anymore.

Gundogan and Flick held a meeting last Thursday, where the manager could not guarantee that Gundogan would be a regular starter under him.

Gundogan was often used in an advanced midfield role under Xavi, but deploying him behind an ageing Robert Lewandowski is not in Flick's plans, with the new manager wanting to exert pressure on opponents high up the pitch.

New signing Olmo is believed to be a better fit for this role than Gundogan.

Barcelona need to change something after finishing 10 points adrift of Real Madrid last season, and Flick appears to want a new face in the No10 role moving forward.

Does this mean Gundogan is set to be forced out?

Flick has denied this is the case, despite Gundogan not even making the squad for Barcelona's opening day win against Valencia on Saturday.

He insisted that Gundogan was injured, and even told reporters that he expected the midfielder to stick around for the upcoming campaign.

'I think he’s gonna end up staying at Barca,' Flick said.

'He was out tonight as he had some discomfort. I spoke to Ilkay, but that stays between us as it’s a private conversation.'

Yet Barcelona have reportedly offered Gundogan to Al-Nassr, indicating that they are ready to let him go.

Offering a star player to other clubs is nothing new for Barcelona as they tried the same tactic with Frenkie de Jong back in 2022 when he was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United.

In the end, De Jong stayed at Barcelona to fight for his place in the side, but Gundogan could see things differently.

Gundogan is understood to not be interested in joining up with Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career, but has been exploring his options before the summer transfer window slams shut, with Relevo revealing their sources are telling them 'he is closer to leaving than staying'.

Gundogan has been linked with a shock return to City, despite the Premier League champions insisting all summer that they are happy with their current squad.

Gundogan is capable of adding depth to the midfield ranks, though, and could provide much-needed cover for Rodri, who has spoken about his concerns over burnout in recent months.

Meanwhile, Spanish outlet Sport have reported that Jose Mourinho is very keen to bring Gundogan to Fenerbahce, and will do everything possible to get a deal over the line, while Galatasaray are also interested in signing him.

Gundogan's parents are Turkish and the former City star is proud of his heritage, having met Turkey president Recep Erdogan back in 2018 along with Mesut Ozil and Cenk Tosun, and referred to him as 'my president'.

Whether this has an influence on his final decision remains to be seen, but it appears that Gundogan has multiple options to choose from as he ponders his next move.

He must now pick the right one as he bids to get his career back on track after a difficult summer.