Ilkay Gundogan was made captain by Pep Guardiola during the midfielder’s first spell at City. Despite an impressive debut campaign in Spain, Barcelona decided to let Gundogan go due to financial issues. His departure on a free transfer will help Barcelona comply with La Liga spending restrictions, as Gundogan was one of the club’s highest earners. Following the announcement, Gundogan expressed on Instagram that while he is leaving in a difficult situation, if his departure can help the club financially, it makes him a bit less sad. He also mentioned that he had been looking forward to helping his teammates in the new campaign and is grateful to have spent 12 months at Barcelona. Guardiola, speaking ahead of Ipswich Town’s visit to Manchester on Saturday, mentioned that the chance to re-sign the midfielder came as a complete surprise and was unexpected. He expressed that there were no doubts when the possibility to re-sign Gundogan was open and that the team is absolutely delighted that he’s back. Gundogan, who has been capped 82 times for Germany, announced his international retirement following the country’s Euro 2024 exit in the quarter-finals to Spain.
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