Barcelona heavyweight’s entourage points fingers at club for impending exit – full details

As reported earlier, Ilkay Gundogan has agreed to leave FC Barcelona this summer after it was made clear to him that he would not be a regular in the side under Hansi Flick.

Signed only a year ago on a free transfer from Manchester City, the 33-year-old was one of the standout players from a disappointing 2023/24 season and was expected to play a key role in Flick’s team.

However, owing to the club’s financial situation and need to release salary space, coupled with the plethora of options in midfield, it has been decided that Gundogan will be moved on.

A fresh report from AS has now brought forward details about how Ilkay Gundogan’s imminent exit from Barcelona came about.

Gundogan’s entourage insists club wants to get rid of him

As per the report, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told Deco a couple of weeks ago that he did not see Gundogan playing a leading role in the new Barça he has in mind.

To prevent the news from leaking out and the player from being disappointed with him, the German tactician then spoke to the 33-year-old and told what he had said to Deco.

However, despite this, the player’s entourage maintains that the decision to sanction his exit has not come from Flick and that it is the club that wants to get rid of him.

Flick believes that, at present, Barça do not have the players necessary to play the kind of football that distinguished them in the past. On the contrary, he wants a team that presses high up the pitch and attacks quickly.

The manager does not see Robert Lewandowski and Gundogan as good fits in this scheme. But considering that the former is untouchable as the No. 9 and his agent Pini Zahavi’s close ties with Joan Laporta, it is the German who has to fall on the sword.

Gundogan does not understand, but accepts decision

The report adds that Gundogan did not fully understand his coach’s explanations, but he accepted them and is currently looking for a way out. The 33-year-old is a winner and the idea of being a backup player does not appeal to him.

The player’s entourage insists that Gundogan is not asking for the limelight, that he believes he can earn it on the pitch, that the relationship with Flick is very good and that he will respect what he decides.

They further insist that everything comes from Barcelona, who want to get rid of him.