On Friday afternoon, Manchester City confirmed the signing of Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona, a year after the same switch in reverse had happened. The 33-year-old will not cost City a cent either.
According to The Athletic, Gundogan had no intention of leaving Barcelona whatsoever until last Thursday. After training, Gundogan met with Hansi Flick to discuss his future, and it was following his meeting with the Barcelona coach that he picked up the phone to Pep Guardiola.
Their information is that Gundogan came out of the meeting with no clarity on his future, but Flick did tell him that he could not guarantee Gundogan an important role due to the arrival of Dani Olmo, Pedri and and Fermin Lopez competing for the same position.
Flick: "Olmo is ready to play. We hope he'll be with us tomorrow."
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 23, 2024
When Gundogan called Guardiola, the Catalan coach confirmed that he would be delighted to have him back, but needed to confirm with the recruitment department that they were on board. After getting the green light, Barcelona Sporting Director Deco was informed on Sunday that Gundogan was looking at exit options.
During the original call with Guardiola though, Gundogan explained that he was already thinking about life after the game, and was keen to go into coaching. It was suggested that after his retirement, he would like to join Guardiola’s coaching team, wherever he was at the time, an idea that Guardiola was positive about.
It is little surprise that Gundogan is considering become a coach, and part of the reason Xavi Hernandez signed him was because of his ability to organise and lead on the pitch. Great players have never been a certainty to become great coaches, but Gundogan has worked with perhaps the two defining Premier League managers of the last decade in Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp.
