'He decided' - Barcelona hit back at Ilkay Gundogan and explain Man City transfer fee

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has hit back at Manchester City player Ilkay Gundogan for comments he made when re-joining the Blues.

Gundogan left City after seven years last summer after the club took too long to meet his contract demands, opting to join Barcelona on a free transfer. Yet a year later, he's back at City, leaving Barcelona after being told he wouldn't get the playing time he wanted under new manager Hansi Flick.

Barcelona's financial issues have been well publicised, and Gundogan suggested his exit was partly manufactured in order for his old club to register new signing Dani Olmo. In a parting message, he said: “Now I am leaving in a difficult situation, but if my departure can help the club financially, it makes me a bit less sad.”

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However, Laporta has now moved to deny that there were any financial motivations from Barcelona's side in allowing Gundogan to leave just 12 months after arriving.

Directly contradicting Gundogan, Laporta said: “Ilkay Gündogan is an excellent player and person. The year we have had with him has been fantastic,” he told a press conference on Tuesday.

“After a meeting with Flick and assessing the situation of the squad, he decided that he wanted to leave. It is a sporting decision, exclusively. With the incorporation of Dani Olmo, he was a player who performs a similar function to that of Gündo.

“It was a sporting decision of the player and the club. I have heard that it is a financial decision, but no. It’s a sporting decision, by Barça, by Gündogan and by City because he has been brought back."

Laporta also explained