Ilkay Gundogan expressed his delight at being “home” after rejoining Manchester City on Thursday and the playmaker’s sunny disposition felt like an inadvertent parting shot at Barcelona.
The 33-year-old has signed a one-year contract at the Etihad Stadium, where he won 12 major honours during his initial seven-season stay, with the option of a further year.
Gundogan was allowed to leave Barcelona on a free transfer despite still having two years to run on his contract in Catalonia, with the club keen to move his salary off the wage bill to make room for registering Dani Olmo and potential further transfer activity.
Such chaos is not part of the equation in Manchester, with Gundogan highlighting City’s high sporting standards under Pep Guardiola as a key motivation for his return.
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“It’s difficult to describe the feeling, to be honest. When you leave this place, you realise what you had, you realise how amazing that time was, you realise how big the club is — the best club in the world,” Gundogan said in a video posted on City’s social media accounts.
“I don’t want it to sound too nostalgic. It’s still about competing, it’s still about having that drive, it’s about trying to be the best version of yourself and that’s an ambition that I still have.
“I want that feeling back. It feels just so nice to be home.”
Those sentiments cut a contrast with a scathing interview Gundogan conducted last season when he accused his Barcelona team-mates of not being asked enough by their home defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico.
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Asked if there was a sense of disappointment in the dressing room after Jude Bellingham’s late winner in Barcelona, Gundogan told LaLiga TV: “I have to be honest, not as much as I wish. I don’t want to say something wrong because I was in the dressing room and, of course, people are disappointed.
“But especially after such a game, such a big game and such a result, I wish more frustration, more anger and more disappointment. This is a little bit of the problem. There has to be more emotion when you lose and when you know you can perform better in certain situations and you don’t react.
“This transfers to the pitch at the end of the day. We need to make a huge step otherwise Real Madrid are going to run away and I didn’t come here to lose these type of games. There’s also a responsibility for me as a more experienced player to not allow the squad to let things happen. We need resistance.”
Whatever happens as City chase a record-extending fifth consecutive Premier League title this season, those types of frustrations should be a thing of the past for returning hero Gundogan.
