The elimination by Paris Saint-Germain in the quarterfinals of the Champions League will leave its mark on the FC Barcelona locker room.
On Tuesday night, Paris Saint-Germain celebrated their qualification for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals. Le Parisien reported this Thursday that the French champions celebrated the success under the initiative of Marquinhos, who started a dance. His teammates and even Luis Enrique joined in.
Luis Campos also let loose and embraced each player, while Nasser Al-Khelaïfi had strong words for his team. The atmosphere was electric in the French locker room. In contrast, the mood in FC Barcelona’s was grim. The players were understandably very disappointed and downhearted, just like Xavi.
A divided group
President Joan Laporta tried to lift the spirits by telling his players he was proud of them and their attitude. Nevertheless, this did not comfort the Culés. Moreover, the elimination by PSG has fractured the locker room. Ilkay Gündogan’s statements, in particular, ignited tensions.
After the final whistle, the German said, “I am disappointed, very disappointed. It was in our hands and we handed it to PSG. We gave it to them in the simplest way. Araujo? It’s hard to say… But in these crucial moments, you have to be sure when you intervene, when you go for the ball, I don’t know if he touched the ball or not.”
He then added, “but I’d rather concede a goal or even a one-on-one. I don’t know if he touched the ball or not. But I prefer to give the goalkeeper a chance to stop it, or even frankly let them have the goal.” Soon after, Marca explained that the Catalan group sided with Gündogan, whose criticisms were justified.
But ultimately, his remarks were not unanimously accepted. They even caused division. Last night, Jules Koundé posted a rather clear message. “Huge disappointment not to qualify for the semi-finals when we had everything to do so. By the way, we win as a team and lose as a team, always. It’s time to recover and prepare for this Sunday’s Clasico. Thanks for the support, Culers.”
The Gündogan issue returns
The Frenchman criticized his teammate. And he wasn’t alone. Sergi Roberto also sent a message to the German. “More united than ever now, here we win together and we lose together.”
These messages were not to the liking of the Gündogan clan, especially the player’s wife, Sarah. She posted a message on social media to defend her husband.
“This man is a hard worker and his opinions on football are meant to improve things, and he gives his all for this team. His mentality is that of a triple winner (with Manchester City, editor’s note).” This has added even more fuel to the fire, according to Sport.
The Catalan media confirmed that there are indeed “tensions” within Xavi’s group following the German’s public statements. It also added, “It is clear that Gündogan’s statements have hurt the locker room. And it’s not the first time the German midfielder has outraged his teammates.”
Last October, he had already publicly criticized the group’s attitude after a Clasico loss to Real Madrid. He also reported many issues to his management. His latest media outing has irritated several of his teammates, who have stood up to defend Ronald Araujo. What happens next remains to be seen.
