On Thursday morning last week, Ilkay Gundogan arrived for Barcelona training ready to focus on the team’s season-opening fixture at Valencia. Just a few hours after the session finished, he and his entourage went to work on finding a way out of the club.
The turning point was a key meeting with manager Hansi Flick. After training that day, the two Germans had a conversation. There had been growing uncertainty over Gundogan’s future, fuelled by reports in the local media, with some outlets — informed by Barca sources — claiming his salary was standing in the way of the club’s plans for 2024-25.
Gundogan was aware of the speculation but had not paid it much attention. He was determined to stay at Barcelona, who he joined on a free transfer from Manchester City the previous summer, on a deal that had just been extended to June 2026.
He and his inner circle knew enough about what it means to be a footballer at Barcelona to understand that political games or media briefings are permanent fixtures in the (at times toxic) atmosphere of intrigue that exists around the club, known as the ‘entorno’. It was in this context that the meeting with Flick took place. Gundogan wanted clarity.
“I spoke with (Gundogan) to know how he feels ahead of the season,” Flick said in his pre Valencia press conference. “I know him very well. I appreciate the player and the person he is. We spoke about everything, but it will stay between us; it’s not for you to know. I have the feeling he will stay.”
Sources close to Gundogan — who, like all those cited here, preferred to speak anonymously to protect relationships — said he came away from the talk with a different view of things. Back at his city-centre home that very Thursday evening, he picked up the phone and called Pep Guardiola.
Gundogan left City to join Barca last summer (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Last term, Gundogan was the most-used player under Xavi. That he played more than 60 per cent of Barca’s games meant the two-year deal he signed last summer was automatically extended by a further season.
Gundogan had since been told, by new boss Flick, that he could not be guaranteed a primary role this season, with the arrival of Dani Olmo — who signed for €60million (£50.1m; $66.6m) but still has not been registered — and the growing profiles of Pedri and Fermin Lopez seen as key factors.
But sources close to Gundogan insist they never received any clear communication about what his role would be over 2024-25 — nor were they told his place on the wage bill had become a problem. The message they received throughout the summer was that Barca were happy with the squad and did not plan any sales — but they were willing to listen to offers.
Gundogan stressed his respect for Flick — the manager who made him Germany captain — but after their meeting, the player was still not clear about what his role would be. Amid all this uncertainty, he decided to call his old club.
Gundogan wanted to know if there could be any chance of him returning to City. In his mind, if he had to look for a new challenge away from Barcelona, that was the only place he wanted to be. Over the summer, interest had been expressed by clubs in Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but sources close to the player said if City hadn’t been an option, he most likely would have stayed at Barca.
Gundogan (with Flick behind him) at Barca’s Joan Gamper trophy match (Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The conversation between Guardiola and Gundogan didn’t last long. Guardiola confirmed he would be happy to take him back, but asked for time to discuss it internally with City’s decision-makers.
Before Friday’s training session, at City, there was already a consensus on proceeding with Gundogan’s return. By this point, City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, had also spoken with the player’s camp.
On that Sunday, the day after Barca won 2-1 at Valencia (Gundogan was not in the squad and Flick’s explanation was the concussion he suffered in a friendly match five days earlier), Gundogan’s agents informed Barca’s sporting director Deco that they were exploring options to leave, without revealing the City interest. Deco wanted him to move abroad rather than join a rival in Spain, but they knew important discussions were still to come.
Gundogan had two years left on his contract — so surely Barca would only sanction his departure if a club paid them a fee? This is where the Catalan club’s stricken finances come in.
Barca had signed Olmo the week before, but as they are in breach of the salary limit imposed on them by La Liga (the policy applies to all clubs, with the limit calculated according to revenue), he was still not registered with the competition. He was not eligible to play at Valencia.
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Barca needed (and still need) to fix the situation by reducing their wage bill or bringing in more revenue. They began the summer with plans to sell several players — Ronald Araujo was lined up as a potential to move on before he was injured at the Copa America — but they had still not raised substantial funds in this way.
Barcelona initially suggested, in talks with Gundogan’s representatives, that they would demand a fee to allow his departure, but that was quickly dropped and they agreed to let him go on a free transfer. There will be no fee, but the savings on his wages will help match La Liga’s salary limit. Gundogan was among the team’s biggest three earners, but club sources say his departure alone won’t be enough to register Olmo.
Gundogan leaving on a free was crucial to the City move coming off. On Tuesday, the player’s camp informed Deco of their intention to rejoin the Manchester club, with the story already public. He has been away just over a year, but nothing of the strength of their connection has been lost. Even during his time at Barca, there’s been evidence of that.
Guardiola’s family helped Gundogan find a home after some struggles searching for an apartment during his first few weeks in the city. He has also met multiple times with City’s Bernardo Silva, one of his best friends in football. Bernado’s sister-in-law, Mariana, is based in Barcelona, both players’ wives are very close, and they all attended Mariana’s wedding in Catalonia this summer.
During Euro 2024, Gundogan received love from another City figure: Jack Grealish. “Can’t explain how good this guy is, man,” he wrote on Instagram during Germany’s 2-0 win over Hungary, in which Gundogan scored one goal and assisted another. “One of the best I’ve had the pleasure of playing with.” The 33-year-old appreciated support at a tense time for him and the national team.
Guardiola and Gundogan after the 2023 FA Cup final (Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
This summer, Gundogan rejoined the Barcelona squad, with Flick’s team already in the United States for their pre-season tour. Given his involvement at the Euros, he was afforded an extended holiday. He was due to join the team in Orlando by the end of July, so he spent some time with his partner in New York the previous week.
Coincidentally, Gundogan bumped into several City backroom staff members in Manhattan during his free days — City were out there for their own pre-season tour. They had a nice chat, during which the player said he was unlikely to feature in the match between Barca and City coming up. Indeed, Gundogan did not play, as he was still catching up in training, but he received a warm welcome at the match from Guardiola, assistant coach Juanma Lillo and all his former team-mates.
It is impossible to dissociate this move from Gundogan’s bond with Guardiola. When he called the manager to find out if there was an open door for him at City, there was another subject of discussion.
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Gundogan has already been thinking about his life after he finishes playing. He has been open in the past with his coaching ambitions and started doing his badges during his time at City. On his phone call with Guardiola last week, he confirmed he is planning on continuing to educate himself as a future manager and suggested he would be interested in joining Guardiola’s backroom staff, wherever the 53-year-old might be in the near future. The idea was very much welcomed.
Their reunion was completed on Wednesday night, when Gundogan met Guardiola, his brother Pere and City executives Ferran Soriano and Begiristain at the Manchester restaurant they partly own, Tast, to celebrate.
They will have plenty more chances to spend time together. Gundogan still owns the apartment where he lived during his time in Manchester, next door to Guardiola. And of course, his reception at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday won’t be lacking in appreciation.
From a Barcelona perspective, the club is saying goodbye to arguably their most solid performer of last season, one who scored five goals, provided 14 assists and created the largest number of goalscoring chances among all La Liga players across 2023-24.
When he joined from City, he had been convinced to move by sporting directors Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, as well as Xavi, who valued the player’s winning mentality and the attitude he would bring to help develop Barca’s young generation. A year on, all of those figures have left.
(Top photo: Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images/Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images. Visual design by Eamonn Dalton)
