Ilkay Gundogan has explained why he had to leave Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the summer transfer window.
Gundogan helped City win the Premier League, the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup last season, but he then moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2023 on a free transfer.
So, what has Ilkay Gundogan said about Manchester City and Barcelona? Let’s take a look.
What’s the story?
Well, Ilkay Gundogan has been speaking about his decision to leave Manchester City and move to Barcelona in the summer transfer window.
Gundogan left City as a free agent at the end of last season and moved to Barcelona.
The midfielder had been on the books of the Citizens since 2016.
During his time at the Etihad Stadium, Gundogan won the Premier League title five times, the FA Cup twice, the EFL Cup on four occasions, and the UEFA Champions League once.
Gundogan told Sporx, as transcribed by BarcaUniversal: “Of course, it was not easy.
“I could not have found a better time than this exit after the best achievement in the club’s history (Manchester City), and I thought a few pages were missing in my book.”
The midfielder added: “For me, the value of Barcelona has always been high. Barcelona are completely different. It was my dream.
“I always wanted to play for Barcelona one day. This summer was my chance and I wanted to make it happen.”
Manchester City had to move on from Ilkay Gundogan
In my opinion, Manchester City had to move on from Ilkay Gundogan. I do not think that City are missing the Germany international midfielder much.
Gundogan is a world-class player and is one of the best midfielders to have featured in the Premier League.
The German is a very classy player who can hold his own in the middle of the park, make the right passes, and also drive the team forward.
I believe that Gundogan was a key figure behind City’s success under manager Pep Guardiola over the years.
However, he is 33 now. City needed to move on from Gundogan and find someone else to take his place.
There have been suggestions that City are missing Gundogan. That point has been made whenever the Citizens have not played well or have lost this season.
I think that City are learning to play without Gundogan, and by the end of the season, Guardiola’s side are not going to miss the German at all.
