Barcelona getting rid of Ilkay Gundogan is just another sign that Joan Laporta's lever-pulling hasn't worked

The German's enforced exit proves that the Blaugrana remain beset by financial problems - four years after Josep Maria Bartomeu's resignation

Joan Laporta claimed in February of this year, "If we meet the budget, the darkest era in FC Barcelona's history will be over." Just over two months ago, he revealed that the "financial transition", from the edge of bankruptcy to economic stability, was "getting closer and closer".

Alluding to the mess he inherited from his disgraced predecessor, Josep Maria Bartomeu, Laporta said, "The culers (Barca fans) have been patient and we are working to turn the situation around from the one we found when we came to the presidency (in March 2021). The balance sheet this season will be positive and I hope soon we can be '1:1' (the Liga regulation that allows a member club to invest as much money in transfers as it generates in revenue).

"I am an optimist and a realist, and I know what I am talking about. We have grown in terms of income and we have reduced expenses, and we are in a situation in which we are about to resolve the Financial Fair Play (FFP) issues from last season."

Many Barca fans are beginning to wonder, though, if Laporta really does know what he's talking about, because just nine days before the close of the transfer window, the club is still not in a position to register star summer-signing Dani Olmo.

Consequently, Barca are once again scrambling around at the tail end of August, trying to either sell players or remove high-earners from the wage bill just to make ends meet. At the time of writing, Ilkay Gundogan - who only arrived in Catalunya last summer and was one of the Blaugrana's best players last season - is being pushed out the door, which only begs the question: Are Barcelona really making any progress under Laporta - or simply back to square one?

Perfect match

Just like everyone else in football, Gundogan was aware of Barcelona's financial problems when he signed for the club on a free transfer last summer. He'd come close to joining twice before, but now, it seemed, the timing was right. He'd just brought the curtain down on his Manchester City career in the best possible fashion, by leading Pep Guardiola's side to a historic treble, and was looking for a new challenge.

In Barcelona, he couldn't have wished for a better option. The Catalan club represented the realisation of a dream. He'd grown up watching Xavi running the "best midfield in the world" - now he'd have the chance to play under the Spanish legend.

Crucially, Xavi was just as keen to have Gundogan on board. He was the first player that he requested Laporta sign last summer. Far more importantly, though, the pair just clicked from their very first conversation.

"Xavi made his ideas of how the team wants to play very clear," Gundogan explained. "It's very similar to how we played in Man City. It's a similar school, Guardiola, Xavi... But in the way he approached the talks, with his honesty, I also saw sort of my own character reflected in him."

That shared trait served neither man well, though, at a club that seemingly has little interest in facing up to the full extent of its problems on and off the field.