Here are your Manchester City headlines for the evening of Monday, June 26, 2023.
Gundogan sends emotional farewell message
Ilkay Gundogan says he will always be a Blue after his free transfer to Barcelona was confirmed.
Gundogan has called time on his seven-year spell at City, leaving on a high after securing the treble this season. He turned down City's offer of a one-year contract with the option of a second, with Barcelona offering more security for his young family.
The German will be sorely missed at City, especially after this season's exploits follow last year's brace to secure the Premier League title on the final day, and he will take some replacing in the squad. As Txiki Begiristain and the recruitment team plan to try and move on, Gundogan has penned an emotional letter to the club after deciding to leave that confirms a part of him will always be at City.
How Barcelona made Gundogan transfer swoop
Ilkay Gundogan made his own fairytale finish at Manchester City after an alternative ending that threatened to be short on the sentiment he had earned.
Gundogan will always be loved at the club and in Manchester for what he has done over the last seven years, from helping out those who are less fortunate in the city without a fuss to scoring the goals to rescue one Premier League title and then captaining Pep Guardiola's side to the Treble. As moments go, it was always going to be hard to top lifting the Champions League for the first time in the country of his parents' birth to write his name further into the record books.
Perhaps it would always have been the point for Gundogan to depart, but his decision was made easier by the reluctance of City to offer what he wanted in the first place. Despite the deep admiration for him as a player and skipper, there was no sign of that in the contract proposed with just a one-year deal with a salary limit imposed to reflect the fact that the German is 32 in an offer that was described as 'pragmatic'.
Gundogan hails 'misunderstood' Grealish and makes Haaland prediction
Ilkay Gundogan believes that Jack Grealish deserves his success at Manchester City this season and is 'misunderstood' by some.
The outgoing City captain reserved praise for Grealish and his role in the Blues' treble-winning campaign, offering some levity in a serious title race, and also providing the quality that his teammates always knew he had.
Gundogan says that Grealish and summer signing Erling Haaland only made City stronger over the last two seasons, praising both for their work behind the scenes to become integral parts of the squad.
