Fans Irked By Fake News Of Ilkay Gundogan-Rodri Swap Deal Between Barcelona, Machester City Goes Viral

With the summer transfer window inching closer to the end, Barcelona seem desperate to confirm the exit of some of their players. The Spanish side wants to part ways with Ilkay Gundogan, who may return to his former team Manchester City.

The German midfielder has reportedly reached an agreement with Barcelona regarding his departure in the coming few days. As per several media reports, Manchester City are interested in bringing Gundogan back to the squad as they are looking for a replacement for Julian Alvarez, who has joined Atletico Madrid this summer.

Amid all of these, an X account named Purely Football recently claimed that Barcelona President Deco proposed a “swap deal between Gundogan and Rodri” which Manchester City “immediately rejected.” The post further added that the Premier League club has asked Barcelona to pay the “remaining fee of Ferran Torres” before August 31, or else they will “take legal action.”

Spanish journalist Gerard Romero was attributed at the end of the post but according to many fans, it was fake news, which was initially circulated by a “parody account.”

Another person also criticised Purely Football, commenting, “A parody account posted this and you dumb admin posted it here. You should lose your job.”

“Fake news spreads quickly. It was literally posted by a parody account. Why don’t you actually source-check?” wrote a user.

Transfer market specialist Fabrizio Romano recently shared a massive update about Ilkay Gundogan via a social media post. According to him, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has already said “yes” to the potential return of Gundogan but the final call will be taken by the player.

“Barcelona wants Gündogan to leave, he’s ready to leave and Pep wants him back as talks are now taking place with his camp after contacts already made yesterday,” Romano added.

Gundogan joined the La Liga club last summer and his contract will expire in 2025. He has already spoken to Hansi Flick regarding his future and the newly appointed Barcelona boss wants the veteran midfielder to leave.

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Amid the turbulence of his club career, Ilkay Gundogan announced his retirement from international football on Monday, August 19. “After a few weeks of consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it is time to end my national team career, the 33-year-old shared on X.

As the highlight of his international career, Gundogan referred to the huge honour of leading Germany in the European Championship on home soil. “After all these years, we finally managed to make the nation proud again – I’m very happy that I was able to play a part in that. But even before the tournament, I felt a certain tiredness in my body and also in my head, which got me thinking,” he added in the post.

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Meanwhile, several clubs from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar are reportedly keen to sign Ilkay Gundogan this summer. He, however, may consider rejoining Manchester City. He left the club following a historic treble success last season.