Barcelona president Joan Laporta was seen chatting with former Barcelona manager and current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Over the weekend, the duo met in Barcelona at a restaurant in the center of Barcelona. @JijantesFC reported that they dined with friends and family to celebrate the titles they have won. This season, both men has achieved a lot. Under Xavi, Barcelona won the league title, while Pep’s Manchester City won the treble.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta meets with former coach Pep Guardiola
Fans might also be wondering whether a certain Ilkay Gundogan’s name popped up at any stage during the conversation. The midfielder might leave City with a move to Barcelona. However Pep Guardiola has stated that he would prefer Gundogan to stay at Manchester City. Gundogan’s contract ends this summer, but he appears to be confused about his next move. According to reports, Gundogan has received a massive offer from Saudi Arabia. In addition he also appears on Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s radar this summer.
Arsenal has ‘solid interest’ in Manchester City midfielder Gundogan as reported by Athletic journalist David Ornstein at the end of May. Barcelona also appears to have shown interest. However his agent recently rejected proposals that his client was ready to leave City. Gundogan recently spoke about his own future:
“No decision has been made yet, I am in the process of deciding my future”, he said.
Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, expresses his intentions for retaining Gundogan, saying,
“I’m aware of Barcelona interest. But we’re also very interested in keeping him at Manchester City. I’m hoping he’ll stay with us. If Barça is successful in signing him, they will get an incredible player.”
And now, according to the Spanish newspaper Nacional, Arteta is asking Arsenal and Edu to ‘pay more’ in order to defeat Barca for the signing of Gundogan this summer.
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