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Barcelona's president has disclosed the motivations behind Ilkay Gundogan's decision to rejoin Manchester City.
Last summer, Gundogan left Manchester City to join Barcelona on a free transfer after his contract expired.
However, he finalised a free transfer back to his former club to rejoin Pep Guardiola barely a year later.
Gundogan made 51 appearances for Barcelona last season, including five goals and fourteen assists.
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17:17 - 25.08.2024
This is what I like — Gundogan takes swipe at Xavi as he hypes Guardiola
Ilkay Gundogan has returned to action for Manchester City after a season at Barcelona.
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14:25 - 24.08.2024
Gundogan aims dig at Barca as he chooses new Manchester City squad number
Manchester City's new signee Ilkay Gundogan took a swipe at his former club with new squad number selection
Laporta speaks on Gundogan’s departure
Joan Laporta has explained why Gundogan left and insisted that it was due to sporting reasons after a discussion with new manager Hansi Flick.
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According to the Sun, he said: "[Gundogan is] a great player and an excellent person. The year we spent with him showed us what he's like.
"But after a meeting with [Hansi] Flick and assessing the situation of the squad, he decided he wanted to leave.
"The signing of Dani Olmo [meant] he was a player who performs a similar function to that of Gundo.
"It's purely a sporting decision. It wasn't a financial one, but the financial repercussions have been good for us. It's a sporting decision by Barca and Gundogan.
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"He came without a transfer fee and it was fair that if he wanted to go to City there wouldn't be a fee.
"It has had an impact on our accounts, but the reason was a sporting decision by the player."
One of the few reasons for his departure was that Gundogan publicly criticised his teammates, forcing his wife to later defend his "treble mentality" after their quarterfinal Champions League exit.
The German, who reportedly made £165,000 a week, was the eighth-highest-paid player in the team, but Barcelona had to find money in their budget to recruit new player Dani Olmo.
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