Ilkay Gundogan will join Barcelona on a free transfer from treble winners Manchester City, BBC and Sky Sports reported on Wednesday.

Gundogan will leave City after captaining the English club to the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season, ending a successful seven-year stint in England where he won 14 trophies, including five league titles.

Gundogan was Pep Guardiola's first recruit when he took over at City in 2016 despite the German being sidelined with a knee injury when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund.

He proved to be the man for the big occasion at City, especially over the last two seasons when he scored crucial goals that helped City seal several trophies.

Pep Guardiola had told reporters on Monday: “If Barca sign him, they will have a spectacular footballer on their hands. I am aware Xavi (Barcelona’s manager) has called him a lot. If, in the end, he picks Barca, I will tell him he will enjoy himself.”

Gundogan leaves City having made more than 300 appearances, scoring 60 goals.

His experience will be invaluable to Barca coach Xavi after the Spanish side's long-serving and trusted midfield general Sergio Busquets left the club at the end of the season after 18 years with the Catalan outfit.

Barcelona won the La Liga title but failed to get out of the group stage in the Champions League while they were knocked out in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.

In response to Gundogan’s departure, City have immediately bulked up their midfield options by signing Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea for a fee of £25m. Kovacic had been a key player for Chelsea since joining from Real Madrid on a five-year deal in 2019.

City could also lose Bernardo Silva this summer. Silva, like many Premier League players, has reportedly received interest from the Saudi Pro League.

Written with inputs from Reuters