A football star cannot escape the passage of time: 34-year-old Gündoğan has been released by both Barcelona and Manchester City for two consecutive years, leaving on a free transfer.

The biggest enemy for any star player is aging! In the early morning of September 3rd (Beijing time), Manchester City officially confirmed that their 34-year-old German midfielder Gündoğan would depart to join the Turkish powerhouse Galatasaray. As reported by Italian transfer specialist Romano, Gündoğan ended his contract with Manchester City before signing with Galatasaray on a free transfer, indicating a zero-fee move.

This is Gündoğan’s second straight summer transfer for free. Last summer, Barcelona chose to terminate his contract to register new signings, while Gündoğan gave up the remaining two years of his high-paying contract with Barcelona to return to Manchester City. At that time, his annual salary exceeded €18 million.

After returning to Manchester City, Gündoğan received a weekly wage of £230,000, but his performance had significantly declined, especially in the first half of last season. He appeared 54 times in all competitions for Manchester City last season (including the Club World Cup), contributing 5 goals and 7 assists. Manchester City’s downturn started after Guardiola’s divorce and the re-signing of Gündoğan. In fact, bringing Gündoğan back was Guardiola’s biggest mistake, along with his hesitation to refresh the squad, overreliance on Haaland who is not suited for decisive battles, selling key creative attackers Alvarez and Palmer, and sidelining Grealish.

In the first three rounds of this Premier League season, Gündoğan did not make any appearances. He terminated his contract with Manchester City early and joined Galatasaray on a free transfer, securing a net annual salary of €4.5 million, which is still a high wage given his declining form. Overall, although Gündoğan was released for free by both Barcelona and Manchester City, he remains a big winner in life.