Revolt at Man City? Barcelona eye FIVE wantaway stars

Stuart Telford

• 25 Jan 2023 09:26 CST
• 3 min read

Man City trail Arsenal five points in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola all but conceded the league title recently, and now as many as five players could see their futures away from the Etihad.

The Gunners have also played a game fewer than City, who have won four of the last five possible Premier League titles, and although the gap to the top is far from insurmountable, Guardiola is worried complacency has set in.

"I understand how my players feel but I am here to stop it," he said after City came from two down to beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-2 last Thursday. "The chairman knows that. I want to be here otherwise I would not have signed, but if I lose the team, I lose something. I cannot be here."

READ: 'Too much caviar!' - Guardiola will leave Man City if he can't motivate them

Whilst it remains debatable as to whether or not Guardiola has lost the dressing room - they beat Fulham 1-0 in the very next game - reports from Spain suggest that things are beginning to creak at the edges.

City players unhappy

"Barca are interested in [a number of] City players," Spanish journalist Jose Alvarez Haya told El Chiringuito TV. "Ilkay Gundogan, Kyle Walker, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte are unhappy with Guardiola and could leave."

Whether Barca could acquire some or all of the above players remains to be seen. The Blaugrana remain in financial dire straits after their group stage exit from the Champions League this season, although some arrivals are possible.

READ: Barcelona line up TWO summer transfers

Gundogan is out of contract at the end of the season and his agent was spotted in Barcelona recently, while Bernardo has long been the top transfer target at Camp Nou, with Guardiola previously admitting he wouldn't stop the midfielder from joining Barca.

Laporte has also previously been linked with a move to Catalonia, having struggled to get back into City's first XI after injury while at Barca's end, Gerard Pique has retired, leaving a gap in central defence.