Guardiola rocked by almighty Man City blow before UCL final with pivotal star emerging as new target for Euro heavyweights

Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are at huge risk of losing one of the manager’s favourite players after he reportedly emerged on the wish list of Paris Saint-Germain.

City are currently preparing for their second Champions League final in three years, as they will come up against Italian outfit Inter in Istanbul on Saturday night. Guardiola’s side are overwhelming favourites after easing past major European teams such as RB Leipzig, Bayern and Real Madrid on their way to the competition’s marquee event.

City last reached the final in 2021, when they played fellow Premier League team Chelsea. However, Kai Havertz broke City hearts by scoring the only goal of the game. Guardiola was criticised for failing to select Rodri and effectively playing without a defensive-minded midfielder. City also played a majority of the match without a true number nine amid Sergio Aguero’s injury problems during what proved to be his last season at the Etihad.

But things are different this time around. Guardiola will almost certainly select Rodri after what happened two years ago, while the Spanish tactician can rely on deadly striker Erling Haaland too. The Norwegian has enjoyed a stunning debut campaign in Manchester, netting 52 goals in 52 appearances so far and breaking a host of records.

But arguably City’s most important player in the season run-in has been midfielder Ilkay Gundogan. The 32-year-old set up Kevin de Bruyne for City’s equaliser against Madrid at the Bernabeu, bagged crucial braces against Leeds and Everton to help his team win the Prem title and bagged two more goals in the FA Cup final as City secured the double.

Guardiola has publicly revealed his desire to keep Gundogan given his importance to City. But the Germany international is out of contract at the end of June and the race for his signature is heating up.

READ MORE: First Man City signing of summer lined up as Pep prepares to bring in centre-back beast with £100m exit clause

Arsenal are interested and Borussia Dortmund hope to take him back to the Westfalenstadion, while there have even been claims Barcelona have reached a full agreement to take him to La Liga.

Things have just gone from bad to worse for City as PSG have joined the pursuit. As per French newspaper L’Equipe, the Ligue 1 giants are eager to bring in a goalscoring midfielder to their team and view Gundogan as a perfect solution. As such, they have added him to their shortlist.

PSG set sights on Man City ace

Another reason why PSG are enticed to the potential signing is that Gundogan is available on a free. While the Paris-based club have huge spending power, they are wary of getting into trouble with Financial Fair Play regulators, having already spent £53m on fellow midfielder Manuel Ugarte.

As such, snaring Gundogan would be an excellent way of adding quality and experience to the squad without spending a huge amount of money.

The report does note that Gundogan’s potential arrival at the Parc des Princes would contradict PSG’s recent decision to transform their squad with more youthful French players. But perhaps Gundogan’s huge influence on matches means they are willing to adapt their strategy to bring him in.

There has recently been uncertainty surrounding PSG given the fact boss Christophe Galtier is expected to be sacked. But the French champions are getting closer to appointing Gundogan’s compatriot Julian Nagelsmann as their new head coach. And this could convince the City man to take up a new challenge with PSG.

L’Equipe add that PSG chiefs have been told Gundogan would ideally like to join Barca, should he opt to depart City. However, Barca’s issues regarding their wage bill are known throughout Europe and this could cause problems in their bid to sign Gundogan. While PSG do not want to spend big transfer fees on players, they are generally fine when it comes to their wage bill, giving them an advantage over Barca.

All of these offers will clearly be attractive to the player. But it would be great to see him stay at City and try to forge an even greater legacy with the Manchester outfit.

Of course, being a treble winner is a stunning achievement, should City manage to overcome Inter. But Gundogan may decide to help City try and win another European crown – how good would back-to-back Champions League winners sound?

Meanwhile, one of Gundogan’s City team-mates is picking up ‘concrete’ interest from the Middle East.