Ilkay Gündogan did not bite his tongue after Barça’s defeat in the Clásico. The German’s statements, asking for more character and winning mentality from his teammates, took center stage in the media throughout Sunday.
Sportingly speaking, it was the first time that the former Manchester City player raised his voice. Saturday, however, was not the first time that Ilkay felt disappointed with Barça, since a few days after arriving he conveyed his discontent to the club. But for reasons that have nothing to do with the ball.
A few days after landing in Barcelona, Ilkay and his family felt little supported by Barça . The club insisted a lot on signing him and told him that, if he signed, he would do so with the label of ‘crack’.
Perhaps that is why the player was even more surprised by the little attention he received in his first days in Barcelona. And so he conveyed it to members of the entity.
A change of city is never easy and even less so when you have a child who is only a few months old. The player hoped to receive logistical facilities during his first weeks in Barcelona: looking for housing, transportation, various procedures and care for his family.
In general, Gündogan and his wife felt somewhat ‘abandoned’, and did not hesitate to convey their complaint to the club for issues that they considered could be improved. From Barça they apologized for the situation.
It must be taken into account that Ilkay came from Manchester City, a club established in excellence in sports but also in more non-sporting matters such as helping players and their families with more personal procedures and procedures. Aware that Barça is “more than a club”, the German expected more dedication from the entity.
Those days coincided with the period in which the club still could not register new signings. This situation lasted longer than expected, a fact that contributed to Ilkay feeling negatively surprised by the internal functioning of Barça.
On the one hand, in a few days he already felt that being a player for the Barça team was entering another dimension in terms of media impact and popularity. But, at the same time, he also discovered a side of the club that did not convince him.
Gündogan’s case is not the only one. There are other players who have recently arrived in Barcelona who also tell SPORT that they have not received all the help they expected when organizing their new life in the city. There are even some reserve team players who had to make a living to get to and from training.
Source: Sport