The entourage of Barcelona star İlkay Gündoğan have on Sunday moved to deny claims regarding the midfielder’s alleged involvement in the process which led to Hansi Flick’s selection as the successor to Xavi.
The situation on the bench at Barcelona has of course returned to the forefront of the headlines in Catalunya’s capital over the course of recent days.
This comes after the Blaugrana, just weeks on from confirming his continuation for next season, announced that Xavi would be relieved of his duties in the summer.
The aforementioned Hansi Flick is in line to replace the Spaniard, understood to have agreed to the terms of a two-year contract with Deco and co.
Claimed to have played an important role in Barca’s eventual choice of Flick as the man to lead the club’s new project, meanwhile, was the aforementioned İlkay Gündoğan.
Reports spread in the media this week that Joan Laporta and the Camp Nou board had sought out the advice of their midfielder veteran, after he spent time playing under Flick’s watch with the German national team.
If the latest word stemming from the camp of Gündoğan himself is anything to go by, however, then this, in fact, was not the case.
As per a report from Mundo Deportivo:
‘The German midfielder’s entourage denied information that claimed that the Barça club had sounded out the former Manchester City captain about Flick and that the player had suggested that he was a good coach.’
Gündoğan, it is claimed, would have considered as much a sign of disrespect for the man who is technically still his manager, in Xavi.
Conor Laird | GSFN
