Considering Ilkay Gundogan had only left Manchester City for one reason and he was one of Barcelona’s most played players during his debut campaign, it was a shock to see him being put up for sale.
Gundogan played the most minutes for the Catalan giants in all competitions during the 2023/2024 campaign, making 45 starts and playing a whopping 4,179 minutes of football — as per FbRef.
It was reported by The Athletic that Barcelona had taken the decision to sell the German international due to them being unable to register the recently-signed Dani Olmo due to exceeding La Liga’s salary cap for teams.
The report further claims that the Spanish side initially proposed the idea of letting the 33-year-old leave but by demanding a fee.
However, Barcelona quickly did a U-turn over their stance and allowed Gundogan to leave on a free transfer — a decision that played a key role in City making a move to sign him once again.
The now-Manchester City midfielder confirmed that he was being sold due to the club’s financial state in his farewell message to the supporters on Instagram.
“Now I am leaving in a difficult situation, but if my departure can help the club financially, it makes me a bit less sad.”
Barcelona president Laporte shares “reason” behind Gundogan sale
Fabrizio Romano claimed that Pep Guardiola tried to contact Gundogan as soon as he discovered Barcelona were ready to offload him.
Manchester City sporting director Txiki Begiristain expressed his delight at Gundogan’s return to the club.
Martin Keown lauded the signing of Gundogan amongst several other pundits.
But Barcelona president Joan Laporta has now given his side of the story behind his sale.
The 62-year-old does not seem to agree with the explanation behind Gundogan’s exit from the club so far.
Laporta said via Mundo Deportivo: “It’s a sporting decision by Barça, by [Ilkay] Gundogan and by City because he has been brought back. At the time, Gundo came without a transfer fee and it was only fair that there was no transfer fee. It has had an economic impact but the reason has been a sporting decision.”
“Ilkay Gündogan is an excellent player and person. The year we have had with him has been fantastic. After a meeting with Flick and assessing the situation of the squad, he decided that he wanted to leave. It is a sporting decision, exclusively. With the incorporation of Dani Olmo, he was a player who performed a similar function to that of Gundo. It was a sporting decision of the player and the club. I have heard that it is a financial decision, but no.”
Ilkay Gundogan will be focused on all things Man City now
Gundogan will likely disagree with Joan Laporta’s version of the story but his focus will perhaps be on all things Manchester City.
The midfield maestro proved that he can thrive in La Liga during his stint at Barcelona and now he will be determined to do the same once again in the Premier League.
Gundogan is likely to play a major role in the Manchester City side after the international break.
So far, the five-time Premier League winner has been restricted to cameos off the bench where he has looked fit and sharp.
After captaining Germany at Euro 2024 as well, perhaps Pep Guardiola is looking to ease the versatile technician in during the first few weeks of his return to Manchester City.
Gundogan, who has retired from international football will be working to further up his fitness to become a regular starter once again in a City shirt.
