Barcelona summer arrival enjoying playing with prodigious midfield duo: “It’s really fun”

Ilkay Gundogan, in many ways, is Barcelona’s marquee signing of the summer. The player may have arrived from Manchester City on a free transfer but is arguably one of the best in the business in the middle of the park.

The veteran made his debut for Barcelona in the first preseason game against Arsenal and played his first official game for the team last weekend at Coliseum Alfonso Perez.

In an interview earlier this week (h/t FCB World) Gundogan spoke in depth about his time at Barcelona, relationships with other players and the manager.

He first opened up about his connection with Pedri and Gavi and how he communicated with them despite the language barrier.

“Pedri and Gavi are two teammates that I really like. I can’t talk to them much, because they only speak Spanish, but it’s really fun to play with them. Pedri, for example, stands in front of you, looks at you, and tries to communicate with you in any way.”

Gundogan also had words of praise for his ex-boss and former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola under whose tutelage he won the treble last season. He spoke openly about the gratitude he had for the legendary manager, saying,

“The best moments of my career were with Pep Guardiola. I’ll never forget him, the most successful manager I’ve had in my career. Tactically, he’s the best I had too. I learned a lot from him and I’m so grateful for the seven wonderful years that I worked with him.”

On Xavi Hernandez and the similarity in approach between him and Guardiola, Gundogan said,

“I think that Xavi and Pep come from the same school. Xavi was like when he was captain for Pep’s Barça, so maybe he knows him better than I do.”

The 32-year-old then spoke at length about Xavi’s legacy as a player, his ability as a manager and how he looked up to the Catalan legend.

“Xavi was one of the best players in his position, probably top 2 or top 3 of the best midfielders in football history. He was smart as a player, and he’s smart as a person. He knows that this project will take time, but he also knows that he has my full support.”

Finally, the new signing outlined his goals for the season and highlighted that the sky was the limit for the Catalan kings.

“I’m really looking forward to giving my best to help the team this season. Success; reaching the top. That’s the culture of FC Barcelona.”