Manchester City contract talks with star player close to ‘breaking off’

Ilkay Gundogan’s future at the Etihad Stadium is looking increasingly likely to come to an end upon the conclusion of the ongoing season.

As it stands, the end of the 2022/23 campaign would see Ilkay Gundogan’s existing deal with Manchester City come to a natural conclusion, with no extension to a contract in the works at the moment.

Since moving to the Etihad Stadium back in the summer of 2016, the German midfielder has made 290 appearances for the club, lifting the Premier League title four times, while putting together a heroic performance against Aston Villa last season to claim the trophy on the final day.

While Etihad Stadium officials and Ilkay Gundogan have been hard at work trying to reach common ground on a new deal, a recent report Sport – as translated and relayed by Sport Witness – claims that talks have started to lag and could potentially fall through.

The reason for the potential falling out reportedly comes down to the Manchester City captain demanding a guaranteed two-year deal and an important salary. It is understood that Gundogan’s current deal is worth £140,000 per week.

While the exact amount that the 32-year-old wants is unknown, what isn’t is the fact that interest is being shown by other clubs around the continent, with La Liga giants Barcelona surfacing as the loudest party.

The Catalan club have reportedly reached out to people close to the German midfielder, telling them that they are interested in acquiring him in the summer transfer window, but are looking for him to lower his salary demands.

Yet, even a move to Camp Nou could be in jeopardy for the Germany international, pending the potential extension to current midfielder Sergio Busquets, as if the Catalans do reach an agreement, Gundogan will no longer be a priority move for the club.

On Manchester City’s end, the Premier League champions have been hard at work looking for replacements to sign in the coming window with Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Mateo Kovacic, and James Maddison all being linked to the Etihad Stadium in recent weeks.