Former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has explained his departure from the European champions. Gundogan left Manchester City for Barcelona on a free transfer after last season’s historical treble-winning season.
Talking with Bild, Ilkay Gundogan went into detail about his summer move to Barcelona. He explained that the treble winners left their move too late to retain his services. He explained: “City waited a relatively long time until the talks intensified.” He added if City came to him earlier with an offer he may have stayed at the club, adding: “If this had happened a little earlier, the situation would have been different. So in the end it was the perfect ending, it couldn’t have come at a better time. It was also my childhood dream to play for FC Barcelona.”
The former City captain also explained that the treble was the perfect ending to his time at the Etihad. He said: “Until May, there was little reason for me to want to change. The treble was of course a crowning achievement. But that couldn’t have been planned.”
Whilst it was a disappointment to see the club legend leave the club, he did get the storybook ending to his Manchester City career. Captaining the club to its first ever UEFA Champions League crown and the treble is an achievement that will never be matched at Manchester City.
The club do appear however to have learnt the lessons from Ilkay Gundogan’s departure. City moved quickly to retain Kyle Walker’s services after it appeared he would leave the club for Bayern Munich as reported by Florian Plettenberg. Walker is set to sign an extension.
With Gundogan having moved on to Barcelona, and City starting the league season with 4 straight wins, both parties have moved on from their successful time together.
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