Saudi Pro League has been causing massive havoc around the European teams, as no club nowadays knows whether it’s their club that will be targeted next by these Saudi officials. With the likes of several big-name players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte, Sergej Milenkovic-Savic, and many many more players leaving their teams. It has been a huge concern for teams nowadays.
Just ahead of Xavi’s press conference, news began spreading that originally came from Asharq Al-Awsat, as per Sport, that the recent Barca signing, Ilkay Gundogan, is being linked with yet another move. Having just joined FC Barcelona back in July as a free agent from the treble-winners, Manchester City. It was already quite shocking that Ilkay Gundogan is looking for a move away.
🇸🇦 Arabic newspaper reported that Ilkay Gundogan has requested to join Saudi Pro League in January.
Xavi: “Really? They said that? Wow. Gündogan is looking for a house here in Barcelona…”.
“𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘯 (says ‘thank you’ in Arabic)”. pic.twitter.com/hQOeUqv3HM
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 24, 2023
But having heard about his links to Turkey just last week, Xavi straight away responded to these rumors as follows, “Really? They said that? Wow. Gündogan is looking for a house here in Barcelona…”. Stating his point that if somebody is looking to move away from a certain club why would he even be looking to find a new house?
Having already been bemused, to follow up on that statement he said, “From a Saudi Arabian paper? Goodness. Shukran [Thank You in Arabic],” and laughed. Having been previously employed in the Middle East, Xavi knows how things work in those ends as it takes no time for them to create any sort of rumor.
How has Gundogan been performing at Barcelona since joining them in the summer
It has been just a few months since his arrival to the reigning Spanish Champions, FC Barcelona. He has already gone on to play 17 times for the Catalan giants, even scoring in the El Clasico, although Barca lost 2-1. Showcasing his talent and why Barcelona signed him as soon as possible.
In this short period of just 4 months, he has already managed to display his experience in terms of goal contributions as well. With Barcelona struggling with midfield injuries, Gundogan has contributed to his team with 1 goal and 5 assists in the 19 matches played across all competitions showcasing how present he is for the team from a deep lying position as well.
Being an ever-present asset to the injury-riddled Barcelona squad, Xavi would surely not be wanting him to leave anytime soon. The way Gundogan has turned around his injury-riddled career, he comes with loads of experience and a massive sense of winning mentality as well after captaining Manchester City to their first-ever UCL title and a treble.
🚨 Turkish media reported that Gundogan had expressed a wish to sign for Galatasaray, but the player will not be leaving Barcelona despite talk of a move to Galatasaray the midfielder’s agent has confirmed. @MirrorFootball pic.twitter.com/oa30JXD73Y
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) November 17, 2023
Speculation may continue to swirl around, and we might even see him get linked to another move across Europe, but it seems unlikely that Gundogan will be leaving any time soon after having a look at the Barca manager, Xavi, quotes. Gundogan is more than likely to stay for the remainder of the season at least.
Gundogan’s agent was already furious last week with the reports linking him to Turkey, so in no time soon we believe that we’ll be hearing from him yet again. Despite initial promises of effectiveness from Gundogan, the seasoned midfielder’s performance has been underwhelming. Off the field, he has been plagued by persistent rumors of dissatisfaction, which have repeatedly been refuted by both him and his family.