Gundogan: "What we want is to beat Madrid, with or without Mbappé"

Ilkay Gündogan is very clear about it: arriving at Barça was such a desired dream that neither his seniority nor the delicate situation of the team will be able to intimidate him. For this reason, as soon as he saw the opportunity, his pulse did not tremble to leave a Manchester City team that added a dream hat-trick last season to embark on an adventure that was perhaps uncertain, but very exciting.. “When Xavi and I started talking, I saw that the right decision was to come to Barcelona, show who I am in another league, with a somewhat different style of play, adapt to another culture, to another country.. That's why I'm here, I love challenges. Despite the fact that I am old, I still have a lot to prove”, stressed the German after his coming-out as a Barça player.

“I feel very good, it is a day of joy and pride for me and my family. I have seen Barça play in recent decades and it has always been a pleasure, that is why it is a privilege to be here. Since I was young, wearing this shirt was a dream, I got very close on a couple of occasions, but it wasn't the time, the time is now, and that's why I'm very happy to be here”, insisted a Gundogan who will coincide in the Barça dressing room with two players with whom he has a close friendship: Robert Lewandowski and Marc-André Ter Stegen.

“I ran into Robert before the holidays. When he told me about the club, the lifestyle, the city, I saw his eyes shine, that he loves being at Barcelona. It didn't have to convince me, but it sent me a very powerful message. and marc too. They did not influence my decision, it was very clear to me that I wanted to come to Barça, but they did reinforce it”, confessed the midfielder, who also revealed how he communicated his decision to Pep Guardiola.

“It was by phone, we were both on vacation, but it was very important to me that he was the first to know and that I was the one to tell him.. I expressed my gratitude to him and to the club and he took it somewhat sadly, although, personally, I think he was also happy that I was going to a club that he loves so much, the one from his childhood and youth. He told me that he would follow all the Barça games, I know that he always has, and that I can call him whenever I want if I need advice”, explained the German, for whom Xavi was also decisive when deciding to become a new Barça player .

“Xavi left his game ideas very clear, it's a lot like what I've done at City these years. The way he approached the debate, his honesty, his direct nature, all of that made me see myself. I saw parallels with him, also because of the way he played when he was a footballer. It's not so much what he told me, but how he told me. The forms are sometimes more important than the message,” he said.

Rivalry

Of course, he also had to talk about what the clashes with Real Madrid will be like, with whom, to begin with, his Barça will meet for the first time on July 29, in Dallas, in a new pre-season friendly in the United States.. “Winning against Madrid is always a special satisfaction when you are a Barça player. What we want is to beat Madrid, with or without Mbappé. To win, the best thing is to focus on ourselves and not look at others”, explained a Gündogan for whom the European challenge is perhaps the most motivating.

“I am very motivated, because I believe that I will be able to be part of Barça's comeback process at a European level. Although expectations have not been met in recent years, a project is being built to put us back at the top of Europe,” he said.. “The Champions League is another universe, it's something magical, difficult to describe. Winning the Champions League is so difficult… And I speak from experience, with City we were favorites for many years and we didn't win it. There are small things that can be decisive. Now I can anticipate them, to reach the final and win it, but they are not always in our hands”, added the German, who also spoke about who have been his favorite players among those he has seen in the ranks of Barça.

“I remember Ronaldinho, his performances, especially against Madrid. He is very different from me, but I really enjoyed his game and the joy he transmitted on the pitch. I must also name Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets, although the latter is also a very different type of footballer in many ways from me.. If you know about football, you value Busquets, he is a silent player, who does not enter through the eyes so much, but who has been fundamental. In that sense, yes we are similar. I can score goals, but that's not what's important, it's that the team plays a good game, and that's why sometimes you stay in the background. In modern football it seems more important to look at the statistics than at the game,” he claimed.