Ilkay Gündogan’s return to Manchester City is expected to be the starting point of an unexpected shock event.
Manchester City is in a situation where Guendoan’s return is likely. Already on the 21st (Korea time), influential media, including Fabrizio Romano, an expert in the European football transfer market, said Guendoan would return to Manchester City after a season. It has already been reported that the two have met in Manchester, England, and it seems that only the announcement of the contract is left.
Guendoan is Guardiola’s lover. When he joined Manchester City, Guendoan was the first player he brought. After moving to Manchester City in 2016, Guendoan devoted himself to Manchester City until the 2022-2023 season and played 304 games. He contributed to Manchester City’s treble as captain of the 2022-2023 season, and he took on a new challenge. He was courted by Barcelona and headed to Spain. His skills remained the same in Spain. He played 51 games with five goals and nine assists, and despite his young age, he consistently maintained the Barcelona midfield.
Coach Han Ji-flick’s position was shaken by the appointment this summer. Flick, who wanted a young and energetic team, excluded Guendoan from the team’s plan and could not make a place for him to register as a freshman. It was Manchester City that reached out to Guendoan, who had received attention from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. When Manchester City reached out, Guendoan did not refuse. Guendoan gave up his huge remaining salary and decided to go to Manchester City.
Speculation has emerged that Gündogan’s trip to Manchester City could lead to unexpected results. The main character was Neymar, a player who made a name in Barcelona’s history. Fans were surprised by the prospect that Neymar could seek to return to Barcelona in the aftermath of Gündogan’s transfer.
Britain’s Tribune reported on the 22nd that Neymar could pay any price to return to Barcelona.
Tribune said, “Neymar’s chances of returning to Barcelona are up to Guendo. I don’t know that Neymar wants to join right away, but he has already tried to return to Barcelona several times.” João Fontes, a podcast host who delivers the news of Barcelona and was active on Spanish TV3, said, “It depends on Guendo’s situation, but Neymar wants to return to Barcelona at all costs.”
This is not the first time Neymar’s possibility of returning to Barcelona has emerged. Neymar was also expected to return to Barcelona last summer, when he was about to transfer to Al Hilal, and it was argued that he could leave Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Neymar left Barcelona for PSG in 2017 with a transfer fee of 222 million euros. Since then, he has grown into a star player representing PSG, appearing in 173 games and scoring 118 goals and 77 assists, as an ace for his team. However, he has not hidden his desire to return to Barcelona someday. 메이저놀이터
Spanish media said at the time, “Neymar and Barcelona have been reconnected in recent days. Neymar will sign with Barcelona this summer, and the issue is sparking a heated debate within the club. Neymar is willing to lower his salary and join Barcelona for 12 million euros. Neymar’s agent said he has a very good relationship with Chairman Juan Laporta and has led the negotiations,” adding that he could even make a weekly cut and return to Barcelona. However, Barcelona could not afford to sign Neymar, who left for Saudi Arabia, accepting al-Hilal’s huge offer.
Barcelona can consider the option if Neymar wants to join at a greatly reduced salary rather than the salary he received at Al Hilal. Neymar is a player who can be used as an alternative if he keeps his skills.
However, the problem is that Alhilal and Neymar still have one year left on their contracts. Also, with Neymar having lost one season last season due to a cruciate ligament rupture, there is no possibility that Alhilal will let go of Neymar, who invested a lot of money. Neymar is receiving a whopping 100 million euros (about 150 billion won) in annual salary from Alhilal.
The possibility of Neymar’s shocking return was discussed in the aftermath of Gündogan’s transfer. However, it is unclear whether Barcelona will be able to push for Neymar’s return due to the departure of one Gündogan.