There is no lack of anticipation for Ilkay Gündogan, 32, in Barcelona, she was well seen on the front pages of the Catalan newspapers on Thursday. “Gündogan, sí”, headlines Sports; “Gündogan, committed,” cheered El Mundo Deportivo. There is no doubt that they are proud of the coup – especially since Josep Guardiola only announced on Monday on the sidelines of a celebrity golf tournament in Barcelona that he wanted to keep Gündogan in Manchester. “For the world stars, it is still a priority to come to Barça,” countered Barcelona club boss Joan Laporta on Thursday – albeit without naming Gündogan.
Gündogan signed an employment contract with FC Barcelona in Munich on Wednesday, where he is said to have undergone the mandatory sports medical examination. An official confirmation was still pending on Thursday, but it was imminent. According to reports, the agreement is valid for two seasons. A third would follow if Gündogan played a minimum number of competitive games in his second Barça season.
Gündogan is said to have rejected offers for Barça that were better endowed – including from Manchester City, which is said to have offered more money for a shorter term (one season plus an option for a second year). The Catalan newspapers estimate Gündogan’s salary at around ten million euros. And explain that the contract contains an important footnote.
Accordingly, Gündogan could terminate the contract should Barcelona not manage to register him as a professional player with the Spanish league association LFP before the first matchday of the new season (11 August). Gündogan doesn’t want to do an egg dance like Barça defender Jules Koundé had to do when the Frenchman had to tremble for weeks last year for his eligibility to play. Especially not as the ex-captain of the city team that just won the treble of the English Championship, FA Cup and Champions League.
Billions in debt and escalating salary payments: the financial situation of the Spanish champions is precarious
Gündogan’s caution would be understandable. Spain’s league association LFP has in principle approved Barcelona’s three-year financial feasibility plan. The financial situation of the Spanish champions is precarious due to debts north of the billion euro mark and exorbitant salary payments. And that has a direct impact on the freedom with which Barça can officially register entrants to the league.
How much money FC Barcelona is allowed to spend on the salaries of newcomers has yet to be calculated on the basis of the expenses and income estimated for the coming year. One thing is clear: it will be less than last year, when FC Barcelona reported personnel costs of around 700 million euros for all the club’s professional teams – and the management level. 425 million euros of this went to the first football team, 55 million to the officials. Radio station Cadena SER reported on Thursday that the club is aiming to bring total staff costs down to 528 million euros by July 1st.
After all, it is already clear that personnel costs will be reduced. Barça got rid of a few football earners. Gerard Piqué retired, Memphis Depay went to Atlético Madrid, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets also left. The divisions also save: The basketball players had to chase away crowd favorite Nikola Mirotic; the handball players let Ludovic Fàbregas move to Veszprem/Hungary. That gave air. But that’s not all – especially since players like Marcos Alonso, Sergi Roberto, Ronald Araújo and Iñigo Martínez (most recently Athletic Bilbao) are awaiting registration, and coach Xavi Hernández has still indicated needs, including in the sixth position and up front.
This in turn means that revenue and savings must be generated. A recent quintet on loan – Clément Lenglet (Tottenham), Sergiño Dest (AC Milan), Samuel Umtiti (US Lecce), Gustavo Maia (Valencia) and Álex Collado (FC Elche) – top the sales list. They illustrate the origin of the troubles: their salaries would amount to 51 million euros in the coming year if they were to return. Other transfer candidates are the Spanish national strikers Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres.
The fact that Gündogan chose FC Barcelona despite the hurdles has a lot to do with Barça coach Xavi. In personal conversations, he told Gündogan what plans he had for him and how much he needed him as the leader of the pack. In terms of age structure, Barcelona has one of the most exciting teams in Europe, especially in midfield. This is what names like Frenkie De Jong, Pedri and Gavi stand for. They should benefit from Gündogan’s experience. Xavi himself was euphoric on Thursday morning. He said that Gündogan “as a player and as a person” was a “great addition” that would “help FC Barcelona enormously”. You have only one goal: “To make him happy.”