Ilkay Gündogan is set to become the newest addition to the list of FC Barcelona players who achieved success in their only season with the club. Here are six other players from the 21st century who have had a similar experience at Barça.
Edgar Davids
Edgar Davids joined the club on loan in January 2004. Despite his short six-month stint to play the second half of the league, the Dutchman made a lasting impression at Barça, taking charge of the midfield. Although the club tried to keep him after his loan ended, he chose to move to Inter Milan for the 2004-05 season. Davids played 20 games and scored one goal during his time with the club.
Mark van Bommel
In 2005, the Dutch midfielder arrived at the Catalan club as a captain and key player from his previous club, PSV. Van Bommel left Barça with a La Liga and Champions League title, even starting in the final against Arsenal in Paris in 2006. During his only year at Barça, he played 38 games, scored 4 goals, and provided 9 assists before moving to Bayern.
Paulinho
On August 14, 2017, FC Barcelona officially signed Paulinho for 40 million euros, securing a contract for the next five seasons. This transfer was the fourth most expensive in Barça’s history, matching the fee paid for David Villa. The Brazilian player featured in a total of 49 matches and scored nine goals during his time at the club.
Luuk de Jong
On August 31, 2021, de Jong joined FC Barcelona on loan for a year until June 30, 2022. He made his debut for Barça on September 23 in a goalless draw against Cádiz CF, playing 67 minutes. Just three days later, he scored his first goal for the club, assisted by Sergiño Dest, in a 3–0 league victory against Levante UE. De Jong played 29 games for Barça, scoring seven goals in both La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. He later returned to PSV from Sevilla on July 2, 2022, signing a three-year contract.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
On February 2, 2022, FC Barcelona agreed to bring Aubameyang to the club. On February 20, he scored his first competitive goals in his fourth game for Barcelona, netting a hat-trick in a 4-1 away win at the Mestalla stadium against Valencia, in a performance that earned him player of the match status. He also helped Barça beat Madrid (4-0), scoring one of the goals in the rout. Throughout the season, he played 25 games between LaLiga, Gamper, and Europa League, scoring 15 goals.
Franck Kessie
On July 4, 2022, FC Barcelona announced an agreement with Kessié after his contract with AC Milan expired, signing him for 4 years until June 30, 2026, with a release clause of 500 million euros. He made his official debut in the first league match at the Camp Nou on August 13, 2022, in a 0-0 draw against Rayo Vallecano. He also scored the winning goal against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou (2-1), bringing great joy to the Barça fans. With the Blaugrana team, he won a League and a Spanish Super Cup, playing 39 matches and scoring only two goals.
Ilkay Gündogan
Gündogan signed for Barça at the age of 33 on a 2+1 basis. Twelve months later, everything points to him leaving Barça to return to Manchester, with whom he won the Champions League in 2021 against Inter Milan. The German provided the Blaugrana club with 5 goals and 14 assists in 51 official matches.
This content has been translated and adapted from the Spanish version of the digital newspaper
