Manchester City is trying to get back Gundogan

Reports suggest that Manchester City is in talks to re-sign midfielder Ilkay Gundogan.

In 2023, at 33, he departed City for Barcelona on a free transfer after his contract expired. Before his departure, he had the honour of captaining Pep Guardiola's side on their remarkable journey.

However, the Catalan giants' widely reported financial issues have made it challenging to officially include recruit Dani Olmo in their squad. Releasing one of their higher-earning players would help alleviate this obstacle.

The City is currently grappling with some initial personnel challenges. One of these challenges is the departure of Argentina forward Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid for a hefty £81 million.

Additionally, they are dealing with an unfortunate injury to Norwegian winger Oscar Bobb, which may sideline him for a lengthy four-month period.

Gundogan could offer a quick solution to these issues without needing time to adjust.

Last year, Manager Pep Guardiola expressed his reluctance to let Gundogan leave City. However, the club was not willing to meet the German midfielder's desired contract length.

Since his move to City in 2016, Gundogan has been a critical player for the club, making an impressive 304 appearances and scoring 60 goals.

In a remarkable seven-year tenure at Etihad Stadium, this individual has amassed an impressive collection of 14 trophies.

Among these accolades are five Premier League titles, one Champions League triumph, two FA Cups, four Carabao Cups, and two Community Shields. Their remarkable football achievements are undeniable.

Barca's player registration issues: why?

In 2013, La Liga clubs reached an agreement on implementing economic regulations to ensure the competition's long-term viability.

This policy restricts clubs' player expenditures by prohibiting them from exceeding their earnings in a season.

Clubs determine their squad cost limit' by deducting projected non-sporting expenses, such as salaries and agent fees, along with outstanding payments owed to other clubs, from their expected revenues for the season.

Clubs are required to send their financial information to La Liga for review. La Liga carefully examines the documentation to calculate revenues accurately based on market values.

It guarantees the exclusion of any inflated sponsorship deals from the calculations.

Suppose a club's squad cost limit is lower than their total wage bill. In that case, they can only register some players in the squad to participate in La Liga.

According to reports, Barcelona needs help registering their new signing, Olmo, due to budget constraints. To make room, they now have to offload players.