Ilkay Gündogan

As part of The Athletic 500 series, we look at Ilkay Gundogan's move to Manchester City

The former City captain's return from Barcelona after just one season away feels so obvious. It has to happen… surely?

Freeing up space on the wage bill would be a big help in Barca being able to register players, but any exits appear to be stuck at present

Former team-mates of the Germany captain explain why he is so good, the secrets behind his brilliance and why it was a joy to play with him

Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo has spoken of respecting “codes and values” in response to team-mate Ilkay Gundogan’s comments on his sending-off against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. Araujo, 25, was dismissed in the 29th minute of the second leg of the quarter-final on Tuesday. Barca had won the first leg in Paris 3-2 and led 1-0 at Montjuic following Raphinha’s 12th-minute opener, but the red card proved to be a turning point in the tie. PSG ran out 4-1 winners in the second leg with four unanswered goals to advance to the semi-final stage with a 6-4...

There was some scrutiny over the 33-year-old's signing, but he has been Barca's most integral player

Ilkay Gundogan's tough comments about Barcelona's Clasico defeat reflect deep changes in the club's leadership group

Xavi pushed hard to bring Gundogan to Barcelona this summer — and senior figures at Manchester City knew exactly why

Barcelona have signed one of the most influential midfielders in Premier League history - no wonder Guardiola wanted Gundogan to stay

Ilkay Gundogan's move to Barcelona was months in the making. This is how the Spanish champions finally got their man

After missing out on Lionel Messi, Barcelona could be set for a frustrating summer if Ilkay Gundogan also does not join them

Gundogan offers so much to City on and off the pitch. Guardiola wants him to stay and the pros of a new deal seem to far outweigh the cons

Barcelona are increasingly interested in signing the Germany international to complement Pedri as an attacking midfielder

Manchester City's midfield setup in the Carabao Cup caused Liverpool problems and played a large part in Pep Guardiola's side winning

Flick's gung-ho tactics backfired but there is a clear imbalance of talent between positions. Germany don't need a reboot, just an update

A lot of talk beforehand was about the midfield battle in Spain's game against Germany, but it was two sub strikers that had biggest say...