Barcelona delighted with 2023 summer signing’s impact, see him as ‘captain without armband’

Ilkay Gundogan has been in the news this week for the comments he made after Barcelona’s home defeat to PSG that led to their elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

The German international was critical of the performance of the team and his statements were construed as a direct criticism of Ronald Araujo, who was sent off during the match.

The Uruguayan’s comments in a later interview sparked rumours of rifts in the dressing room, which were dismissed by several Barcelona players in the media day on Friday.

Issue sorted in minutes

Now, providing information about what went down between Gundogan and Araujo after the PSG game, journalist Jordi Cardero reports that the two players only took a few minutes to resolve the matter.

“It didn’t take more than a minute’s conversation to clarify the statements as well as closing the case,” they say in the dressing room.

It is further stated that Araujo had not directly heard what Gundogan had said but was only told about the statements made by the midfielder.

Barcelona very happy with Gundogan. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Irrespective of everything, both players and the entire dressing room dealt with the matter well and in fact, his honest and direct style is appreciated in the locker room.

Barcelona delighted

Going on, the report states that Barcelona are ‘delighted’ by the overall impact that Ilkay Gundogan has had since arriving from Manchester City in the summer of 2023.

From day one, it never appeared like the midfielder was someone who had just won the treble and appeared hungry to improve and achieve more success.

The veteran star places the highest demands on himself and his teammates, which was no different when he was at Manchester City. So much so that, some say he is showing signs of being the captain without the armband.

It is further stated that Gundogan is always talking about football and even stays back after training sessions to discuss the game with Xavi Hernandez.

The Barcelona manager played a key role in convincing Gundogan to join and has been left delighted with his signing, describing him as “a gift from heaven”.