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“Welcome Gündogan!” Here is the message posted by FC Barcelona when the arrival of Ilkay Gündogan was made official on June 26, 2023. A big coup for the Blaugranas, who had picked up the Manchester City midfielder and captain on a free transfer. Despite Pep Guardiola’s desperate attempts, the German wanted to join the club of his dreams. But his dream gradually turned into a nightmare. The former BVB player had his ups and downs in Catalonia. Shortly after his arrival, the Spanish media reported that he had not really appreciated the welcome from his management, who did not necessarily accompany him and his family to settle in and find his bearings.
A few weeks later, “Gundo’s” attitude was singled out after his media outburst on Ronald Araujo after Culés’ elimination in the Champions League against PSG. The midfielder had apologized, but the Catalan press assures that his relations with part of the locker room did not necessarily improve afterwards. Finally, there was the departure of Xavi Hernandez, the coach who brought him to Barça. We thought that he would find his smile again with the arrival of his compatriot Hansi Flick. But there again, nothing really went as planned. The residents of the Camp Nou quickly made him understand that it would be better for him to look elsewhere this summer.
Barça did everything to make him leave
Sport And World Sports explain that it is not necessarily linked to his level of play or a sporting criterion. This is due to the fact that Barça must save money and make room to register players in La Liga. With his big salary, the German weighs on the club’s finances, which is still in the red zone despite the sale of several assets in recent years. But “Gundo” refused to leave at first. So, Barça’s leaders used the method they used to try to push Frenkie de Jong to join MU two years ago. They leaked information to the press, explaining in particular that the player wanted to leave.
Faced with this media pressure, Gündogan finally gave in. He agreed to leave Barça to return to Manchester City, where a one-year contract plus an optional year awaits him. News confirmed by ASwho explains that the German was rather classy unlike his club. “Gündogan leaves the Camp Nou understanding that the club’s financial situation is what it is. An important detail, he sits on two years of contract and he withdraws when he was not obliged to. His departure has nothing to do with disagreements with Hansi Flick or with technical problems. The German counted on him, because last season he was one of the most important players with Xavi.”
Laporta’s shoddy methods highlighted
AS added: “Last week, the player had a meeting with Hansi Flick in which the German coach acknowledged that this season he would not have a leading role in the team and that it would be difficult for him to be a starter. Of course, he told him that he was still counting on him because he is one of the most qualitative players in the squad. Gündogan felt that the club did not consider his departure for economic reasons as a bad thing and he started to move to find a solution that would benefit all parties.” Feeling pushed out, the 33-year-old midfielder finally gave in, having been totally involved in the club’s project this season. The pressure from his management paid off.
But some Spanish publications do not really appreciate the treatment of the player. This is the case of Relevo who published an article entitled “Gündogan or the last shame of Laporta’s Barça”The media outlet then commented: “His contract was coming to an end (at City, editor’s note) and, as he arrived as a free agent, FC Barcelona were able to offer him a financial contract in line with what Ilkay Gündogan is – yes, still today -: a great footballer. A contract that this time is not attributable to the legacy received by Laporta’s board of directors. It is his, one of his ideas, signed by him. That one, the one that Barça now wants to break, the German player did not ask to break. Let them not lie. Well, they can lie if they want, but whoever lies, lies consciously.”
The player is defended by some media
Relevo continues: “As soon as the club learned that the German had offers to leave – one from Arabia, dizzying like all those that come from this football circus – they were enthusiastic. But Ilkay will not go and play in the oil fields. He wants competition, he wants to win and he wanted to do it at Barça, he was sure that this team had a future and he saw himself capable of leading the project from the field, under Flick (…) But they have shattered his dream once again. He knows he has to leave because the club does not want him, but he has not asked to leave. Never. And the club does not want him because he has a high salary and the Barça team could register another player in his place. Because Barça continues to have problems registering its players.”
The publication, which indicates that his season was rather good sportingly last year (5 goals, 13 assists), concludes thus: “Gündogan, if he leaves, will leave fed up with being mistreated. He knows, because his entourage, his uncle, his cousin and his friends are not stupid, that the club says that it was him who asked to leave. He has simply come to the conclusion that he will always be better in a normal club than in a club that was a dream and that was a disappointment; the one that was considered more than a club and that is a disaster, spitting out really harsh and unfair information.” The rumors about his behavior are unfounded for Relevowhich speaks of a charming man. AS Barça also charges that the argument put forward by the club is a “an excuse that is running out for Laporta because of Barça’s financial problems.”
The old management is a convenient excuse
For the Spanish media, Laporta is the president who brought in “Gundo”. He cannot hide behind the old management and must assume responsibility. The same goes for the SER chain. In a debate on this subject, journalist Antonio Romero confided: “The excuses for the contracts given at the time of the previous management are now over. It is not valid with Gündogan. He has only been here for a year, he has received the money that this board of directors has paid him. They cannot pay him now and they are in financial difficulty again. This contract with Gündogan cannot be attributed to Bartomeu’s lamentable management.”
Another journalist present on set declared: “Barça’s sporting policy since Laporta’s arrival has been completely erratic. The star signing who was supposed to be key to Barça’s next few years is being shown the door after less than a year since he played his first match.” But it is not only the media that are shocked by the Culés’ methods. XToni Kroos posted a “WOW” to comment on the news about “Gundo” leaving Barça and returning to City. The player’s wife, Sara, has unfollowed FCB on social media. A way to show her support for her husband, who will therefore return home to Manchester City. And as they often say, there’s no place like home.
