Deco's Barcelona revolution: Embracing youth and shunning age
FC Barcelona's sporting department is set for a makeover under the guidance of former football maestro Deco.
Ilkay Gundogan is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Barcelona and the German national team. Gundogan is of Turkish descent having been born to two Turkish parents, but was born in Germany.
Gundogan won the 2011/12 Bundesliga title with Dortmund as well as the DFB Pokal that same season. In 2013, he won the DFL-Supercup and played in the final of the UEFA Champions League, which Dortmund lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich. He scored Dortmund's only goal - a penalty in the 69th minute.
Gundogan moved to Manchester City in 2016, where his career continued to grow under Pep Guardiola.
However, after graduating from the youth system at VfL Bochum and impressing in his stint at FC Nuremberg, Gundogan earned his big move to Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut for BVB against rivals Schalke in July 2011 in the DFL-Supercup.
Good memories from 2012 - what an unforgettable game against Greuther Fürth! Wishing my former club @BVB all the best for the upcoming season! ⚽👍🏼 #throwback #hejabvb #BitteDiesmalNiemandenAufDemParkplatzVergessen 😂 pic.twitter.com/EHaLD3XGoM
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) August 20, 2018
In July 2013, Dortmund beat Bayern 4-2 in the DFL-Supercup and Gundogan scored in the match. However, Dortmund struggled to keep pace with a financially powerful Bayern over the next few years. Jurgen Klopp left the club in 2015 and Gundogan followed suit a year later, joining Manchester City ahead of the 2016/17 season.
Gundogan signed for Manchester City for £20million, despite reportedly having attracted interest in the past from city rivals Manchester United in the past.
In 2020/21, Gundogan's goalscoring form improved significantly. He played an important role in helping Manchester City cope with a long-term injury to star playmaker Kevin de Bruyne as Pep Guardiola's side dominated the Premier League once again and regained the title from Liverpool.
Gundogan won the Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2021 and then again in February of that year.
He became City's top Premier League scorer that season with 13 goals, but missed out on lifting the Champions League trophy after being part of the side that lost to Chelsea 1-0 in the final.
At the end of the season it was confirmed that he would be moving to Barcelona on a free transfer after his contract with Manchester City had expired. He had made 304 appearances for the club and scored 60 goals.
Last game before the World Cup🏆⚽... and still grateful to play for this country 🇩🇪 // Letztes Spiel vor der Weltmeisterschaft 🏆⚽️... und immer noch dankbar, für dieses Land zu spielen 🇩🇪 #DieMannschaft #ZSMMN #BestNeverRest #RoadToWorldCup @DFB_Team pic.twitter.com/2YVUCdaPkP
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) June 9, 2018
Gundogan's injury curse struck again then, though, with him forced to sit out their 2-0 defeat to England at Wembley.
He was part of Germany's ill-fated World Cup 2022 campaign, playing all three group games as they crashed out before the knockout stages for the second consecutive tournament.
Gundogan received criticism for meeting Turkish president President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoayan in London and referring to him as "my president" despite being a German citizen.
The fallout over this incident led to Gundogan's international teammate, Mesut Ozil, retiring from international football, as he was also targeted by supporters and the German football authorities for meeting Erdoayan.
Gundogan will reportedly earns €9million per season at Barcelona, which works at around €173,000 per week.
FC Barcelona's sporting department is set for a makeover under the guidance of former football maestro Deco.
Ilkay Gundogan's Barcelona contract includes a clause allowing him to leave for free if he is not registered.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Barcelona have landed an 'incredible player' with the acquisition of German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan from City.
Ilkay Gundogan felt the timing was right to leave Manchester City for Barcelona.
FC Barcelona has secured the signing of German midfielder Ilkay Gundogan to bolster their midfield, but their pursuit for further reinforcements continues.
Manchester City's director of football Txiki Begiristain paid tribute to the "inspirational" Ilkay Gundogan after the midfielder's long-expected free transfer to Barcelona was confirmed.
According to media reports, Ilkay Gundogan, the captain of Manchester City, is set to make a move to Barcelona.