Ilkay Gundogan left 'confused' after Barcelona transfer

Stuart Telford

• 27 Aug 2023 11:21 BST
• 3 min read

Ilkay Gundogan joined Barcelona from Manchester City this summer and has slotted straight into their first team, but his adaptation to Spanish football hasn't been without its problems…

Gundogan brought the curtain down on seven glittering seasons at Man City this summer, the five-time Premier League winner moving to Barcelona on a free transfer.

Despite having Frenkie de Jong, fellow new arrival Oriol Romeu, Gavi, Pedri and Sergi Roberto for competition in Barca's engine room, Gundogan has started both of their La Liga games so far - against Getafe and Cadiz, assisting Pedri in the latter.

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In other words, he seems to have settled in quickly, but there are things in Spanish football he didn't expect to encounter according to Mundo Deportivo's Xavier Bosch.

"Gundogan suffered in Getafe [a goalless draw on the opening day], getting elbowed by Damian Suarez," he said.

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"And against Cadiz, the former City player was left shaking his head. What about? Getting hit by the ball from open play, opposition players feigning fouls at the slightest opportunity, deceiving the referee, time-wasting, trying to provoke Gavi, [Robert] Lewandowski, Raphinha…"

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Barca have already picked up six yellow cards this season, four of them for protesting to referees, with 'lesser' teams resorting to the aforementioned tactics against last season's La Liga winners.

Barcelona have managed to bolster in the summer transfer window despite wrestling with a £1.35 billion debt, which La Liga told them to dent by at least £200 million if they wanted to compete this season.

Romeu cost €3.4m from Girona but Inigo Martinez arrived, like Gundogan, free of charge when he signed from Athletic Bilbao.

The club also raised approximately have of the La Liga target by selling Ousmane Dembele to Paris Saint-Germain and Franck Kessie to Al-Ahli, while making Antoine Griezmann's return to Atletico Madrid permanent.