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Fans react to the news that İlkay Gündoğan is heading back to Manchester City

Gundo-back.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 21st August 2024

In a rather sensational twist in this year’s summer transfer window, it looks as though a deal is all but done to bring İlkay Gündoğan back to Manchester City.

Barely a year on from leaving the Etihad for nothing last summer, Gündoğan is now on his way back to Man City after just one season with Barcelona and is also set to depart on a free transfer.

Despite being tied to the Nou Camp on paper until 2026, the 33-year-old has been released from Hansi Flick’s side at no cost to City and is expected to sign his comeback contract imminently.

Unsurprisingly, Blues are absolutely buzzing to see the former club favourite on his way back to 0161 and plenty of Barca fans are just as surprised too, with the story developing almost overnight.

As confirmed by the likes of The Athletic‘s Tom Sanderson, the two clubs have reached an agreement for City’s Treble-winning captain and 2023 German Footballer of the Year to return to the fold on a one-year deal with the option to extend for a further 12 months.

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The outlet also confirmed that the remaining two years of his contract in Spain have been rescinded in order to rejoin the Premier League champions as soon as possible, having already been left out of the lineup for the opening game of the season for Barca.

Club president Joan Laporta has effectively been forced to allow the midfielder to leave for free given that his wages as one of the club’s highest earners are simply too much and would have otherwise prevented them from bringing in new signings.

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This seems to be an ongoing dilemma for the Spanish giants who, despite their persistent financial struggles, continue to sign big talents for big money only to find themselves in an even bigger pickle after the fact, sometimes even struggling to register players once deals have already been agreed.

Not that City fans mind one bit, of course; supporters are already dreaming of an immediately improved midfield with Gündoğan and his replacement, Mateo Kovačić, soon set to occupy the middle of the park together and what it could mean for their tactics moving forward.

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With first-team star and Euro 2024 winner Rodri set to be out for several months, Gündoğan returning to Man City couldn’t have come at a better or more opportune time for both parties, as his services are needed right away and a regular place is pretty much guaranteed as a loyal servant under Pep Guardiola.

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Gündoğan was Pep’s first signing when he joined the club back in 2016 and helped begin their period of domestic dominance and journey towards a maiden Champions League, so it goes with saying that the two have played a key role in each other’s legacies.

It also said that Guardiola himself was a key factor in City finalising a deal to bring Gündoğan back to the club, with the Catalan coach jumping at the chance to talk with him amid interest from the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Arsenal back in the Premier League.

It’s been nothing but good news around the Etihad over the last 48 hours or so, with both Phil Foden and Bunny Shaw picking up Player of the Year at the 2024 PFA Awards following two outstanding respective seasons.

Elsewhere, former City Academy product turned Chelsea star and now England international Cole Palmer picked up the Young Player of the Year award, whilst Manchester United midfielder Grace Clinton picked up the same award in the women’s game following an impressive campaign on loan at Spurs.

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Featured Images — As-faerniaty (via GoodFon)

Sport

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City hearing over 115 FFP charges start date next week

After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.

Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.

In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.

However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.

As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.

Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.

In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.

Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.

The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.

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The club itself launched unprecedented legal action against the English top-flight back in June but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to swat away those investigating the books.

It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.

And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?
The outcome and level of punishment following the Man City hearing could vary greatly in severity.

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Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

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Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.

‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.

It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.

That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.

Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.

Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.

The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.

Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.

At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.

Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”

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Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.

The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.

Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.

Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?

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Featured Images — The Manc Group/Billy Harris/ATP/Davis Cup (via Instagram)

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