Before returning to Manchester City in the summer, former Barcelona player Ilkay Gundogan has shared some personal details about his last days there.

With a full year remaining on his La Blaugrana contract, weeks of speculation about his future being denied were dispelled by a daring approach from the English champions.

After a few days of City expressing interest in having him return to the Etihad Stadium, Gundogan consented to the change, and Barcelona completed the transfer.

“I played for one of the biggest teams in the world. I fulfilled a childhood dream, to play for Barca.

“Maybe people look at last season and think we didn’t win anything, that’s true, but if you look at our performances, at the end of the season we had 85 points.

“That was three less than the year before, when we won La Liga. We were also playing against a very difficult Real Madrid team.”

Despite his significance to Barcelona, the team is nevertheless managing a precarious financial condition, and wage reductions help.

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, Gundogan stated that while he doesn’t regret his choice, he acknowledges that things might have gone differently in Barcelona.

Gundogan will now have to overcome his greatest obstacle since joining City when the Premier League leaders take on championship rivals Arsenal this coming weekend.