Barcelona met with Inter Milan director yesterday, not Gundogan’s agent – Romero

This past Thursday, El Chiringuito broke the news that Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan’s agent met with Barcelona director Mateu Alemany at the club offices. It was claimed that the meeting lasted for more than an hour.

Following that, reports started to emerge claiming that Gundogan’s signing at Barcelona was almost a done deal and that the midfielder would be signing a two-year contract with the club with an option of an additional year.

However, now, Gerard Romero has countered those claims of the meeting with Gundogan’s agent, stating that Barcelona had a meeting with Inter Milan director Piero Ausilio on Thursday and not with the Manchester City star’s representative.

Romero states that Ausilio was at Barcelona’s Ciutat Esportiva training complex yesterday along with an agent, Edoardo Crnjar, and held a meeting with Barcelona directors Alemany and Jordi Cruyff.

Crnjar is the founder of Excellence Sport, an agency that represents footballers, including Barcelona’s very own Ronald Araujo. The agency also counts former Barcelona star Kevin-Prince Boateng among its clients as well as ex-Barça manager Quique Setien.

It must be noted that Inter Milan had been credited with an interest in Jordi Alba last summer. Those links had continued recently as well, although they are not in a position to pay his salary.

As to what went down in the meeting, it is not clear at this point. However, Romero claims that it was not Gundogan’s agent that held talks with Barcelona yesterday. He also states that when contacted, the Blaugrana denied any meeting with the German international’s representative either.

As to what it means with regard to the pursuit of Gundogan and whether a contract agreement is as near as it is being reported, only time will tell.