Man City to spend £10m-a-year on player after shock U-turn – Stefan Borson
Manchester City are likely to be paying Ilkay Gundogan around £10million a year after re-signing him on a free transfer from Barcelona.
That is the view of former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the midfielder will be earning around the £200,000 a week he was getting paid by the La Liga giants.
Gundogan left the Etihad last summer on a free transfer, having signed a two-year deal with Barcelona.
But the 33-year-old returned to the Premier League champions on 23 August on a one-year deal, which includes the option of a further 12 months.
The former Man City captain was Pep Guardiola’s first-ever signing for the club when he initially joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2016.
Man City have been satisfied by Ilkay Gundogan’s fitness
Borson believes Etihad chiefs must now be satisfied by Gundogan’s physical condition after they previously didn’t want to offer him a two-year contract.
He told Football Insider: “We don’t know exactly, but you would think he’s on very sizeable wages because to get him over from Barcelona on a free transfer, he will have been paid very significantly.
“But one of the key factors was City had already told him a year ago that they weren’t keen to enter into a two-year contract and now this season would be the second year of that contract, which they weren’t keen on.
“Next season would be the third year that they weren’t offering, so that’s why we see City have done a one-plus-one deal.
“I suspect that he’s earning pretty close to what he was earning in Barcelona, partly because he seems fit and performed well last year.
“Any concerns that City had in respect of his physical condition probably were satisfied.
“I would imagine he’s on the usual £10million a year for a player of his status, even though he’s 33.
“It’s a big salary for a player of his age.”
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