Revealed: The first player Xavi asked Joan Laporta to sign for Barcelona this summer

The former Manchester City captain was formally unveiled as a Barcelona player by club president Laporta on Monday. Laporta subsequently revealed at a pres conference that the German international was the first player that manager Xavi wanted the club to sign this summer.

Speaking on Gundogan's signing, Laporta said, "The first player Xavi asked for this summer. It's an honour he chose our offer. We made a good proposal financially, but it was not the best he had. He preferred Barca's prestige and history over other offers.Barcelona's director of football Mateu Alemany said, "The first time we sounded out the deal was when we signed Christensen [in 2022]. Since January, there have been difficult negotiations. Other offers were bigger financially than ours and it's not easy to come to an understanding with the agents.

 Gundogan, who was Pep Guardiola's first signing at Manchester City in 2016, left the club after seven seasons to join the Catalan giants. He led Manchester City to a treble win last season. After sealing Gundogan's signature, Barcelona are now on the verge of signing Oriol Romeu from Girona.