The day Gündogan's departure from FC Barcelona began to take shape

İlkay Gündogan's departure from FC Barcelona seems increasingly likely. The player from Gelsenkirchen, after a magnificent 2023/24 season at an individual level with the Blaugrana team, where he scored five goals and provided 14 assists in 51 matches, seems to be considering leaving the Catalan club, despite having one year left on his contract.

During the past season, what stood out in 'Gündo's' performance as a Blaugrana player, besides his undeniable technical quality and unique talent in the final third of the opponent's field, was his ability to openly express his disagreement with certain team attitudes. Necessary reproaches to highlight specific errors that, in his view, led the Barcelona team to stumble in more than one match.

The day Gündogan's departure from FC Barcelona began to take shape

An especially remembered moment of this frankness by the German player was his statement after the 1-4 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain (04/16) in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals second leg. Without directly mentioning Ronald Araújo, the former Manchester City player expressed his discontent, suggesting that a teammate's expulsion influenced the team's performance in that crucial match. In the 'flash interview,' the '22' asserted: "Disappointed. It was in our hands, and we handed it to PSG in the simplest way. We gave it to them."

Subsequently, Gündogan continued with more direct criticism towards Araújo for his decision, which, in his opinion, affected the game against the Parisian team. "In these difficult moments, you have to make sure you get to the ball. And if you don't get there - I don't know if you touch the ball or not - you have to stay away. Obviously, I would have preferred to concede the goal there or give the striker a one-on-one. Even (Barcola) had advanced the ball a lot, so I don't know if he was going to get there. We had to give our goalkeeper the chance to save us. Or even give up the goal because being left with 10 men so early in the game kills you," he concluded.

This situation caused a conflict that lingered in the locker room, as the German's public criticisms of Araújo were not well received by the team as a whole. Rivera, on the other hand, preferred not to delve into the issue, commenting: "I keep my opinions to myself. There are codes and values that must be respected."

Now, as reported by 'Mundo Deportivo,' these tensions would have affected relationships in the locker room, leading Gündogan to have to explain himself privately the next day to settle the matter. Despite this, there were traces of discomfort and discontent among the players. From this, it is not uncommon to say that this episode marked a before and after in the team's dynamics and perhaps could have been the starting point of the alleged disillusionment of the talented German midfielder with the Barcelona team.