Manchester City sees four players leave as their contracts expire today – Daily Mail
Four players leave Treble-winning Man City as free agents after their contracts expired today, including a one-time £52 million star defender and a Barcelona-bound midfielder
- June 30 is the date on which the contracts of many players across the league expire
- Four players will leave Manchester City this summer as transfer-free players
- One is a former £52 million signing, while another has turned out to be a successful captain
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The four players on Manchester City’s released list have now officially left the club, with Ilkay Gundogan, who has joined Barcelona, and one-off £52 million signing Benjamin Mendy.
It has turned out to be a quiet start to the summer in terms of revenues and expenses for the Treble winners.
But four contracts have now expired, with captain Gundogan the biggest loss, which Pep Guardiola has quickly made up for with the signing of Mateo Kovacic for £25 million.
Mendy, who faces a new trial on rape and assault charges, has been released by City after six years at the club.
Mendy joined City from Monaco in 2017 for £52 million and made 75 appearances before being arrested in November 2020 following a claim of rape by a 24-year-old woman at his home the previous month.
He was released under investigation before he was later charged with sexually assaulting another woman, aged 24, two months later, and while on police bail, he was charged with the rape of three other women, one of 17 years old – all crimes he had since been acquitted of.
Academy products Terrell Agyemang, a box-to-box midfielder, and Rowan McDonald have also been released following the expiry of their contracts.
City wanted to keep Gundogan at the Etihad Stadium this summer but fell short of offering a two-year contract, while Barcelona agreed a deal that could run until 2026.
“One of the hardest calls I had to make was to tell Pep I was leaving,” Gundogan said after moving to Spain.
‘I could only say thank you. Not just for this season, or for all trophies, but for getting me here in the first place.
“I will never forget that I hurt my knee at the end of the season at Dortmund [in 2016] and I had to have surgery, I was so scared that City would pull out of the deal for me.
“But Pep called me up and said they’ll wait, however long it takes.”
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