“I’m aware of Barcelona’s interest” - Pep Guardiola signals desire to retain Manchester City superstar

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is eager to keep hold of Ilkay Gundogan but acknowledges Barcelona's interest in the midfielder.

Gundogan's deal with the Cityzens expires on June 30, and he will become a free agent if no extension is agreed. Barca hold a strong interest in the German as they look to replace the outgoing Sergio Busquets this summer.

Guardiola has insisted that Manchester City want the 32-year-old to remain at the Etihad despite Barcelona's interest (via Fabrizio Romano):

“I’m aware of Barcelona interest in signing Gundo, but we’re also very interested in keeping him at the club! I hope he stays with us. If Barca succeed in signing him, they will get a great, fantastic player."

Gundogan was one of City's most crucial players in the recently concluded season as Guardiola's men won a sensational treble. He scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 51 games across competitions. That included a brilliant brace in their 2-1 FA Cup final win against Manchester United.

Reports claim that Barcelona are offering the veteran midfielder a three-year contract to join Xavi's side. Gundogan has yet to play in La Liga and could be looking for a new adventure at this stage of his career.

Gundogan had arrived at Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 for €27 million. He has scored 60 goals and contributed 40 assists in 304 games with the Cityzens.

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Barcelona boss Xavi lauded Manchester City attacker Phil Foden

Phil Foden has been praised by the Barcelona boss.

Barcelona manager Xavi appears to be a massive fan of City attacker Phil Foden. The Blaugrana boss gave the young England international a glowing verdict in 2021 and admitted that he wanted to see more of him at Euro 2020, telling The Times:

"I think he is an unreal talent for a lot of reasons. He has an amazing work rate, but also his decision-making is ace. He’s strong, quick, has a sense of goal, great passer and shooter. ... There’s everything in the pack."

Xavi added that he understood the difficulties Gareth Southgate had when choosing his England team at the European Championships:

“I would have loved to see more game time for Foden. When you have this number of talented players, all I can think of is putting them on the pitch. I understand it’s very tough to make changes with the squad Southgate had."

Foden featured just three times at the Euros amid fitness issues, providing one assist. He was handed a more prominent role at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar by Southgate. The 23-year-old played four games, scoring one goal and contributing two assists.

However, the Manchester City academy graduate has also experienced game-time issues at the Etihad in the 2022-23 season. He was displaced by Jack Grealish on the left flank of Guardiola's attack. He made 48 appearances across competitions, scoring 15 goals and providing eight assists.