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İlkay Gündoğan Praises Pep Guardiola After His Move To Barcelona

Jackson Fyda / Soccer / July 25, 2023

Ilkay Gundogan — İlkay Gündoğan claims he “didn’t know anything about football” before working with Pep Guardiola. (Tim Groothuis/Witters Sport via USA TODAY Sports)

İlkay Gündoğan Praises Pep Guardiola After His Move To Barcelona

Former Manchester City captain İlkay Gündoğan made headlines earlier this summer when it was announced that he would be moving to Barcelona on a free transfer. However, the 32-year-old German has been full of nothing but praise for his former team and manager since making the move.

“Before I joined Man City, I thought I knew football,” Gündoğan said. “I was 25 or 26 years old, I’d seen a lot. I’d played a Champions League final. But now standing here after seven years of Pep’s school, I’d say I didn’t know anything about football before. His influence on the team and me personally was immense.”

This is an incredible compliment from Gündoğan. Before moving to Manchester City, he was already playing at an incredibly high level. He was an integral part of an elite Jürgen Klopp-led Borussia Dortmund team that won a domestic double and reached the Champions League final.

He definitely already “knew” football before moving to Manchester City. However, Pep Guardiola is special. He is a managerial genius who has the ability to permanently transform players and teams.

There’s a reason Dani Alves described working with Pep Guardiola as “better than sex.” It is not just the trophies he has won throughout his career, but the connection he makes with his players that makes him such a special manager. As Gündoğan said, he had shown him a new way of playing the game, and he is now a much better player because of it.

Is Pep Guardiola to blame for Germany’s decline?

While he enjoyed his time playing for Pep Guardiola, however, Gündoğan decided that the time was right for him to move on after a dream season with Manchester City that saw the club win the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

He is now moving to Barcelona, where he will play for one of Guardiola’s most distinguished students, Xavi Hernández. It will be interesting to see if Xavi can get the best out of Gündoğan like Guardiola could next season.

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