'At City, we arrived an hour and a half before training and here, half an hour before,' he said. Man City's record goal scorer, Sergio Agüero, whose spell at Barça ended prematurely because of a heart condition in 2021, also noted a contrast in standards, albeit prior to the appointment of Xavi as manager. Gündogan, 33, is not the first ex-City player to highlight perceived differences between what he was used to at his former club and what he found at Barcelona. Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) 4 in which Xavi himself criticised his team's display, the Barça boss had to ask the media to draw a line under Gündogan's remarks. Eventually, after a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad on Nov. In a roundabout way, Xavi said he agreed with what his midfielder had said, but that didn't stop the inquisition. Gündogan, who joined from Manchester City in the summer as a treble winner, had criticised Barça for showing a lack of 'frustration, anger and emotion' after what was their first loss of the season. 28, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández fielded questions about midfielder Ilkay Gündogan's comments following the 2-1 defeat to title rivals Real Madrid at the end of October. Have Barca's coaching, talent losses been Man City's gain?įor almost a full week after El Clásico on Oct. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser

City club year in review