The German midfielder Ilkay Gündogan has returned to Manchester City after just one year with Barcelona, as announced on Friday by the English Premier League champions.
City shared a video on their "X" account of Gündogan wearing the blue jersey with the number 19, where he says: "Honestly, it's hard to describe the feeling. When you leave this place, you realize what you had, you realize how great that time was, and you realize how big this club is. The best club in the world."
Gündogan won the league title five times with City and played a key role in their first-ever Champions League victory before leaving last summer to join Barcelona.
The 33-year-old continued: "I don't want to be overly nostalgic, it's still about competition, that drive, being the best version of yourself, and that's a passion I still have... I want to regain that feeling. It's really nice to feel like you're back home."
The announcement of Gündogan’s return to the team he represented from 2016 to 2023 wasn’t surprising, as several media outlets reported in recent days that he had reached an agreement with City to rejoin after spending just one season with Barcelona.
Gündogan signed a one-year contract with City according to the Premier League champions, without specifying the details of the deal. However, reports indicate that it was a free transfer, which Barcelona agreed to in order to offload Gündogan’s salary and register their new signing, Dani Olmo.
The reports also noted that Gündogan, who announced his international retirement on Tuesday, gave up the remaining two years of his salary with Barcelona to facilitate the move. The third year in his contract was activated last season when he played in more than 60% of the team’s matches.
Gündogan played 36 matches for Barcelona across all competitions, but was reportedly informed that he was not part of the plans of the new coach, his compatriot Hansi Flick, who replaced Xavi Hernandez.
"The Athletic" website mentioned that the player had communicated with City’s Spanish coach, Pep Guardiola, who gave the green light to complete the deal.
City, who started their league campaign with a 2-0 win away against Chelsea, have only signed Brazilian Savinho, while Argentine forward Julián Álvarez moved to Atlético Madrid.
