Barcelona consider shock sale of star midfielder after injuries wreck transfer plans

Barcelona are considering the sale of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in their battle to raise transfer funds this summer, according to a report.

Barca's financial toils in recent years are infamous and their transfer budgets have been slim in the past few windows. They have instead identified free agents to pick up, with Gundogan being one such arrival last year after his contract with Manchester City expired.

90min understands the Catalan giants dream of recruiting Athletic Club winger Nico Williams and RB Leipzig midfielder Dani Olmo, both of whom starred in Spain's glorious run at Euro 2024. However, there is a €100m shortfall to make up in order to comply with La Liga's financial rules and any signings that require transfer fees will only be possible if other squad members are sold.

SPORT in Spain claim Barca have pivoted to explore options to sell Gundogan due to the injuries sustained by Ronald Araujo, Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati, all players the report insists the Catalan club would be happy to engineer exits for during the summer.

Gundogan only signed a two-year contract with the option for an extra season upon his arrival, meaning Barca would have to sell him quickly to flip any profit following last year's free transfer. There have been rumours of interest from the Middle East, with the leagues of Qatar and Saudi Arabia said to be monitoring the situation.

Whether the 27-time La Liga winners would be able to convince the Germany international to depart after only just one season is something else. Barca are now led by Hansi Flick, who coached Gundogan during his days in charge of DFB-Team.

The 33-year-old was one of Barca's best performers during a rather disappointing season under former boss Xavi Hernandez, contributing 13 assists across La Liga and the Champions League.

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