ILKAY GUNDOGAN could be set to LEAVE Barcelona just weeks after signing for them due to a shock clause in his contract.
The star enjoyed a stellar final season at Manchester City last term and scored a pair of volleys in the 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
GettyIlkay Gundogan’s time at Barcelona could be coming to an abrupt end[/caption]
He has scored 60 goals and provided 40 assists in 304 appearances since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 and bowed out from the Etihad by leading them to Treble glory.
The 32-year-old German international midfielder was then officially announced as a Barcelona player on June 26 after his contract expired at City.
But his time at the Nou Camp may be coming to an abrupt end before it really got started amid the race against time for the club to register new players by Sunday’s LaLiga deadline.
Forbes are reporting that if he is not registered by Sunday, when Barca kick off the season against Getafe, then a clause in Gundogan’s contract would allow him to leave the club for nothing.
And they also state that the clause will also see him paid for a full year’s salary.
Spanish publication AS Sport previously revealed his deal is worth £8.6m per season.
Barcelona are only believed to have registered 13 players so far for the Getafe clash – and those include both Ousmane Dembele and and Franck Kessie even though they look set to depart for Paris Saint-Germain and Saudi club Al-Ahli respectively.
Forbes have said that Barca president Joan Laporta is “banking on those sales” in order to be able to register new signings.
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He and the club are also set to offload a 16 per cent stake worth £56m in Barca Studios to a German investment firm.
The financially stricken giants suffered similar issues 12 months ago with regards to registering players.
Back then they were only able to register four of their five new signings one day before the start of the LaLiga campaign.
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