Former Manchester City player blames team for failed contract talks

Former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan accused the club of unsuccessful contract extensions, reports Bild.

The German suggests that he could have stayed in the Premier League instead of moving to Barcelona. Ilkay Gundogan has said that Manchester City started talks with him late. If they started a dialogue sooner, the midfielder could stay in the team.

The 32-year-old signed a contract with Barcelona as a free agent this summer. Ilkay is reported to have pulled out of talks with Manchester City because he didn't like the timing of a new deal. However, he admitted that this was not the only reason why he decided to move to La Liga.

He stated that it was not for a year or two, City had been waiting quite a long time for the moment to start negotiations. As Gundogan says, if the club had started to deal with this matter sooner, the result could have been different. However, the German added that he chose the right moment to move on. It was his dream to play for Barcelona, so there could not be a better moment for it.

We will remind, Ilkay Gundogan spent seven years in Manchester City and scored 44 goals. In this team, he became a five-time Premier League champion, winner of the FA Cup, FA Cup, Community Shield and won the Champions League last season.