Gundogan's Barcelona Exit: Disappointment with Dressing Room Leaders

Barcelona ended up bidding farewell to Ilkay Gundogan this summer, due to the lack of minutes he would receive according to President Joan Laporta, and due to the club’s finances according to the German star. Gundogan did not have the experience he had hoped for.
According to Bar Canaletes, Gundogan saw that there were forces within the club nudging him towards the exit door this summer, with the name of unofficial ‘fixer’ Alejandro Echevarria mentioned. However he left with disappointed with what he saw in Can Barca.

Part of the reason that he joined the club were the calls from Germany teammate Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and former Borussia Dortmund teammate Robert Lewandowski. Gundogan did not see much in the way of character in the dressing room while he was there though, and his veteran colleagues were part of that.

Joan Fontes explains that Gundogan felt ter Stegen, now the captain of the club, did not raise his voice often enough, and kept himself to himself most of the time. Meanwhile with Lewandowski, the Polish striker was not helping the youngsters come through – his complaints to young players during games were well-documented last season. If Barcelona came out on the losing side of games, but Lewandowski had scored, Gundogan felt that the 36-year-old was all too content with matters.