Former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has shared what Pep Guardiola said to him after the German told him he had decided to leave the club.
After winning the treble as City’s captain last season, the 32-year-old left the club as a free agent to join Barcelona.
Having recently been officially revealed as a new player at the Spanish club, the midfielder shared some behind-the-scenes details on the conversation he had with Guardiola about his decision to leave City and join his new club.
Gundogan shares Guardiola’s reaction after City exit decision
Speaking to Barcelona’s media, Gundogan said this when asked about how his former manager reacted to his big news.
He said: “I expressed my appreciation towards him, towards what the club has done for me in the last seven years.
“And, of course, he took it in kind of a sad way, but on the other side, I guess, this is my interpretation a little bit that he was maybe also a little bit happy that I’m joining his childhood club, the club that he loves incredibly much and that he’s proud of.
“So he just wished me all the best for the future, that, of course, he’s going to watch the games and he’s still a big fan of Barca.”
During his seven years at the Etihad Stadium, the German international made 304 appearances across all competitions, scoring 60 goals, delivering 40 assists and winning many trophies.
With that in mind and the fact that Gundogan played a prominent role in seeing City win the treble last season, it’s clear that he was an important figure in the team and why the manager would have been sad to see him leave.
In fact, the 52-year-old made it clear that he wanted to see the midfielder stay at the club and sign a new deal, which will have made his decision to walk away from City a tough one for Guardiola to take.
However, with the European champions having secured a £30m transfer deal for Mateo Kovacic earlier in the summer transfer window, the manager will be hoping that he can have a similar sort of impact in the team as Gundogan did.
