Mundo Deportivo newspaper revealed that Pep Guardiola greatly misses former Manchester City and current Barcelona star Ilkay Gundogan and the tremendous influence he had at Etihad Stadium.
Gundogan left at the end of his contract last summer, heading to Barcelona on a free transfer, after City management did not make him a suitable offer for renewal.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Guardiola realizes that so far he has not succeeded in adequately replacing Gundogan despite the inclusion of two players in his position, namely Mato Kovacic and Matthews Nunez.
The pivotal role that the German international played in the City midfield, in addition to his exceptional leadership qualities, has clearly been missing this season and has affected Guardiola’s squad in many matches.
This is what made the Manchester City management itself regret that it did not make the appropriate offer for Gundogan and keep him, especially since his role in the locker room has become severely missing.
Barcelona succeeded in winning the services of the 33-year-old, who immediately became one of the most important stars of Xavi Hernandez’s squad and left his mark clearly at Camp Nou.
It is noteworthy that Gundogan played 47 matches with Barcelona this season in all tournaments, during which he was able to score 5 goals and assist 12 others.
