Ilkay Gundogan lands in Manchester and meets Pep Guardiola at the City boss’s restaurant as veteran club legend gets set to rejoin in a shock free transfer from Barcelona

Ilkay Gundogan has arrived in Manchester as he closes in on a shock return to Manchester City.

The midfielder is poised to rejoin Pep Guardiola‘s side as he gets set to leave Barcelona after just a year at the club.

In a 50 minute-meeting at Tast Catala restaurant, which Guardiola owns, the pair discussed 33-year-old Gundogan’s return to City. 

Last year Gundogan joined Barcelona on a two-year deal and made 51 appearances last season, while he scored five goals.

Barcelona are continuing to struggle with financial problems and have been unable to register new signing Dani Olmo following his move from RB Leipzig.

Gundogan is poised to return to Man City following just one season as a Barcelona player

Gundogan attended a meeting with Pep Guardiola at the City manager’s restaurant Tast Catala

Gundogan’s exit alone wouldn’t be enough for Barcelona to register Olmo but it would help Barcelona’s financial situation. 

City, meanwhile, will be delighted to welcome back Gundogan to provide them with an extra option in midfield.

A player highly valued by City’s manager, Gundogan was Pep Guardiola’s first signing for the club in 2016.

During an illustrious initial spell at City that spanned eight years, Gundogan made 304 appearances across all competitions, while he scored 60 goals and provided 38 assists.

Gundogan won an array of honours with City, including the Champions League, five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and four League Cups. 

He was City’s club captain during their remarkable treble winning campaign of 2022-23 prior to his departure.

Gundogan is poised to become City’s second summer signing following the arrival of Savinho from Troyes. 

In 2022, Gundogan’s wife Sara Arfaoui complained about the food in Manchester, saying that there aren’t any good places to eat in the city.

The model and TV presenter was born in France but moved to Italy as a child. She wrote on Instagram that she could not find ‘a real Italian or good sushi or just fresh food… everything frozen’. 

She wrote: ‘Sorry, I’m sad to be honest but nothing. I tired [sic] so bad to find a good restaurant but horrible food everywhere. Can’t find a real Italian or good sushi or just fresh food…

‘Everything frozen. Restaurants here are focus [sic] on making money with drinks and shot [sic] like nightclubs, not quality food. Maybe in London but in Manchester nothing. I’m sorry.’

A manager at Guardiola’s Tast restaurant stated that they didn’t want to comment, saying: ‘We don’t want to get involved!’.

More recently, Sara told Mail Sport earlier this year how much she was missing life in Manchester.

‘When I was in Manchester, my whole life was (originally) around football,’ she said.

‘My friends were football, the people I met through my husband, and then I didn’t have anything that was just my world outside of that.

‘And I’m a social person. So it took me a bit of time, but I made it friends and it was really nice.

‘After making friends, I was really happy. I had my own life and routine in Manchester and I have one of my best friends there.’

Discussing the difficulty of swapping England for Spain, she added: ‘Over the years I would see friends moving.

‘So it’s something that’s always around in football and you would suddenly just have a phone call from them telling you they’re going to another country.

‘So, it’s always around, it’s always happening, but I didn’t imagine that it would be us and when it’s you it’s big a shock.

‘It’s always sad, especially because you make friends, you’re happy somewhere, you build your life and then you have to leave all the people you love.’