According to ‘Sport’, Manchester City and Barcelona seemed to be on the same page over a swap deal for Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan. However, negotiations have gone a bit awry in the last few hours as the Catalan giants may not be willing to sign the Portuguese defender this summer.
Ilkay Gundogan, who has decided to leave Barcelona in recent hours due to the lack of opportunities he is facing this season, is keen to return to the Etihad Stadium, as are Manchester City.
The Sky Blues got in touch with the Catalan giants as soon as rumours of his possible departure surfaced. And it looked like a done deal for both parties. The Premier League club have Joao Cancelo, who played for Barcelona on loan last campaign, unhappy with his situation at City.
The right-back has always shown his interest in playing for Hansi Flick’s side but the club’s economic problems prevented him from staying in Spain, which would not be a problem in a swap deal between Barcelona and City.
Nonetheless, the La Liga club might not be willing to sign him for next campaign. According to ‘Sport’, they cannot afford to pay the salary that the 30-year-old requires. The Portuguese accepted a wage reduction for playing in the Barcelona colours last term but is unlikely to want to do so again.
As a result, his move to Camp Nou is likely to be complicated but it does not mean that Gundogan will not be able to return to where he spent seven seasons playing in England.
