June 30 is the date when many players’ contracts across the league expire
The four players on Manchester City’s released list have now formally departed the team; among them are Benjamin Mendy, a former £52 million signing, and Ilkay Gundogan, who has joined Barcelona.
In terms of transfers in and out for the Treble champions, it has been a quiet start to the summer.
Four contracts have already expired, with captain Gundogan’s being the biggest loss. However, Pep Guardiola moved quickly to make up for this loss by bringing in Mateo Kovacic for £25 million.
Mendy was let go by City after six years with the team. He is currently facing a retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.
Mendy made 75 appearances for City after moving them from Monaco in 2017 for £52 million. He was arrested in November 2020 after a 24-year-old woman accused him of raping her at his house the month before.
Two months after being freed under investigation, he was accused of sexually assaulting a second lady, age 24, and while out on police bail for that incident, he was accused of raping three more women, one of whom was age 17, all charges for which he has since been cleared.
Academy-made goods Box-to-box midfielder Terrell Agyemang and Rowan McDonald were also let go after their contracts expired.
While Barcelona chose a contract that could be extended until 2026, City intended to keep Gundogan at the Etihad Stadium this summer but did not go as far as to offer a two-year extension.
After relocating to Spain, Gundogan admitted that notifying Pep that he was leaving was one of the hardest calls he had to make.
All I could muster was a thank-you. For bringing me here in the first place, not just for this season or for all the prizes.
I’ll never forget being so concerned that City might back out of the agreement for me after I injured my knee with Dortmund at the conclusion of the season [in 2016] and needed surgery.
However, Pep contacted me and assured me that they would wait however long it took.