2024-08-24 09:10:36
in the middle of July 2023, Pep Guardiola’s cell phone rang. On the line was his neighbor who also plays for him in Manchester City: Ilkay Gundohan. Less than a month after becoming the first captain in the Citizens’ history to lift the Champions Trophy, and more so in Istanbul, Turkey – the country of his parents, the midfielder was on the verge of tears as he said of the decision not to extend his contract.
Gundoan then closed seven years full of titleswins, goals and assists at City, and now it’s time for a new challenge. He could only pass up the chance to sign with Barcelona – the team he would see on TV dancing on the pitch under Guardiola – and play in the stadium he dreamed of. The icing on the cake was the exciting offer from Barca that sparked the emotional conversation with the man who knows her better than anyone, journalist Lou Martin revealed in ‘Ralvo’ in Catalonia.
“I understand you,” he said Pep to Gondwan “You are going to a big club, you will be happy.” And he was overjoyed to receive an offer from Barça that suits a player of his level – the captain of the European champions who decides to leave him in favor of a new adventure, one that he started as a free agent. This allowed the Blaugrana to upgrade the terms of the contract offered to Gondwan to a level that was in line with the legacy Juan Laporte received from Josep Maria Bartomeu, at least as far as the second season of the contract is concerned.
Guardiola gave Gondwan the go-ahead (Reuters)
Until recently it was clear that the best player in Barca was Xaviwho was supposed to earn 20 million euros this season. And it’s not that the Catalans couldn’t stand him, but he had a price: the salary of Gonduan, or the registration of Dani Olmo, the acquisition added to the list of connections that is getting longer in the Hanzi Flick squad. So in the end it was decided to release the German veteran in the same way he came – for free – and this is an essential point in Barca 2024, the one where a media campaign is a tool that sometimes targets his players. . And Frankie De Jong can tell a thing or two about it.
“Gondoan was not the one who asked to dissolve the contract”, he clarifies Lou Martinwho last year wrote the book “When We Were Eternal” about Guardiola’s Barca. The hint here is clear and there is no doubt that it is referring to the members of the club and especially to President Laporte: “Let them lie if they want, but lie those who lie knowingly. As soon as they heard that Gondwan had offers, including Western Arabia, the club was excited. But Ilkay will not play on oil fields, he wants to compete and he wanted to do it at Barça. He believed that this group had a future and saw himself leading the project under Flick.”
Just last month Gondwan knocked out Germany from the Euros at home to Spain’s Nico WilliamsLamin Yamal and Danny Olmo replaced the injured Pedri. “Nothing inspired Gondwan more than the ‘Baby Barca’ project, but they broke his dream,” says Martin, “He has already seen how he plays at Camp Nou. He knows he has to he left because the club doesn’t want him, but he never asked to leave.”
“Already saw how he plays at Camp Nou.” Gondwan (Barcelona official website)
Gondwan said goodbye to Barca after a great seasoncertainly considering his limits, with five goals and 14 assists, one of which was for Fran Torres in the 0:1 away win over Porto in the Champions League. The midfielder was then chosen as the best player of the game for UEFA in the days when he still didn’t have a house in Barcelona flat before finding a permanent home for himself and his wife and child Manchester City was the one who helped him.
And it was not for nothing that the English champions were open to the return of Gundoin and Guardiola – they were neighbors for six years in Manchester – gave this a green light, and it’s not just about the professional aspect. When City voted on the identity of the captain, there was no doubt who would be chosen, and Gundoan received the majority of votes not only from his fellow players. Professional members, doctors, physiotherapists, security guards, chefs and more also took part in the vote – in short, everyone who makes sure City’s players don’t miss anything on a daily basis.
Gundogan lifts Champions Trophy as Manchester City captain (Reuters)
This is in stark contrast to the treatment Gundoin received at Barca despite his much-vaunted acquisition’s good season in the summer 2023. “Pep would not have disappointed Gondwan, but City did not intend to pay for him in the way that Barça did not pay for him,” asserts Martin, who sharply criticized: “We will see if Laforte, to the problems to solve and hide the shame, he will believe that other people are stupid who give wrong information for example, that he doesn’t like the coach, that his wife is not used to the city Lies upon lies that embarrass the club, and one day he will turn against Barca.”
when the storm was still in its infancyGundoan spoke to flick To understand where the wind is blowing and the coach did not reveal what was said, but said: “I think he will stay.” a contract at Barca, that is, over € 20,000,000, and it seems that the coach also The German already understands where he came from After all, at the press conference when he was introduced he could not even speak in German and he was satisfied with English only because Barça does not provide him with a Catalan interpreter.
There is a smile, money for the interpreter probably not. Hanzi Flick is shown in Barcelona (Reuters)
“The Gundoan thing is the ultimate embarrassment at Laporte’s Barca,” says Martin, “probably not the ultimate embarrassment at the club either, because given what we’ve seen, more ridiculous things will happen with it. the long list.”
Double for Lewandowski, 1:2 for Barcelona against Valencia
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