Ilkay Gundogan believes he must prove himself once again after leaving Manchester City for Barcelona this summer.
Gundogan captained City to a famous treble last season and was widely heralded as one of the best midfielders on the planet when he allowed his contract to expire and took his talents to Catalonia instead.
The change of scenery has given Gundogan a fresh set of objectives and he told CBS Sports of his desire to prove his worth to Barcelona.
"It is a challenge," he began. "I think that I had seven incredible years with City. Incredibly successful years too - the last few months were just amazing. It was not just the titles we won, but the atmosphere in the locker room, the people around the club and that sort of stuff. I have enjoyed these past few months so much.
"You really cannot believe it and sometimes I was thinking why would I want that to change. But that was exactly what I wanted - to get out of my comfort zone, to prove myself again in a new country with a new culture, a new league and new players. I am someone who loves to explore things and that is how I see it right now. I came here to prove myself, to conquer and to be successful."
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Gundogan went on to admit that Guardiola, a Barcelona icon as both a player and manager, ultimately helped inspire his move to Camp Nou.
"It was not necessarily a need but honestly wearing the badge was a dream since I was a child," he revealed. "I remember the Barca teams that I watched when I was a kid. Even when Pep Guardiola was manager there, I was already a professional but I still loved to watch his Barca teams playing soccer.
"It was always the biggest dream for me to represent Barcelona and I was actually close a couple of times, once when Pep was still there. It was not meant to be but it was meant to be this summer so as soon as I got the opportunity it was quite clear. Winning the treble with City also made it a bit easier as it was a nice goodbye and farewell at the end of the day. That is why I decided to join and I am very proud and honoured to be here."
The move to Barcelona also presents Gundogan with the chance to reunite with former Borussia Dortmund teammate Robert Lewandowski.
"We had really good talks before I moved here," Gundogan said. "Honestly, we did not speak that regularly over the past few years. I think that we played together for four years in Dortmund, then he went to Bayern Munich while I was still with Dortmund and then I went to City and then he came to Barca. Obviously, we were busy so we did not talk that much, but once we started again on a regular basis, it felt like it did back in the day ten years or so ago at Dortmund.
"It was natural and I think that this is a very nice thing actually. He was very honest and spoke very positively about everything in Barcelona from the city to the club and the people. Obviously, it is a different culture to the one I had with City. Like I said before, though, I love to go somewhere a not expect a lot."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Ilkay Gundogan claims he must 'prove himself' again at Barcelona.
