The former Manchester City midfielder, Ilkay Gundogan has conceded that he might have remained in the Premier League if Manchester City had initiated contract talks sooner.
Gundogan departed Manchester City after seven years at the beginning of the summer, ultimately joining Barcelona on a free transfer.
It is reported that the German declined a contract extension from Manchester City in May, citing dissatisfaction with the terms, including the contract’s duration.
However, he has now disclosed that the length of the contract was not the sole factor influencing his decision to exchange Manchester for Catalonia.
“In the end, it wasn’t about a year or two. It didn’t hit the runtime. The city waited a relatively long time for the talks to really get intense. If that had happened a little earlier, the starting position would have been different,” Gundogan told German publication Bild.
Still, Gundogan also conceded that he may have picked the right time to move on: “So in the end, it was the perfect ending, there couldn’t have been a better time. It was also my childhood dream to play for FC Barcelona.”
Gundogan is set to be part of the squad for Germany as they face off against Japan and France in two high-profile friendly matches this week.