Barca News
Barcelona secured a verbal commitment weeks ago with Ilkay Gundogan to sign the German for the next three seasons. Next week, after the Champions League final in which Gundogan will play for Manchester City against Inter Milan, the Catalan club hopes to be able to announce the deal, which will only be pending until the German player passes a medical.
Gundogan, who will arrive on a free charge, has received a renewal offer from his club in recent weeks, who are willing to offer him a one-season contract plus another optional year.
He was also tempted by his former team Borussia Dortmund, who lost Jude Bellingham, but he was determined to sign for Barcelona, the team he was about to join in 2015, when he even passed a medical, but it fell through.
Xavi Hernandez directly interfered with Gundogan’s arrival. The Barcelona coach has done this in most of his signings in the past year, speaking to the players to explain his project and tell them how great FC Barcelona is. You only need to remember the trip he took to Germany last year to try to impress Erling Haaland.
With Gundogan, Xavi held at least three conversations and told him: “I played in big teams such as Dortmund and Manchester City, under the supervision of coach Pep Guardiola, but when you get to Barcelona, you will see that it has nothing to do with what I experienced. Barcelona is different, it’s the biggest.”
Xavi also made it clear to the German that he would be an undisputed mainstay in the team, because he believed he could occupy any of the four positions in midfield. Gundogan can play at the base, helping to build up the game, and also in more advanced positions, providing the control he has sometimes lacked in some matches this season.
The Barcelona coach also believes that Gundogan can act as an inside player in matches where he bets on a three-man midfield and then needs a more centralized midfielder, the one he claims is a replacement for Sergio Busquets.
Thus, Xavi played an important role so that Gundogan could wear the Barcelona shirt. German signing is about to happen. Next week may be a reality.
Source: Sport
