Barcelona star to reach alarming statistic at Euro 2024 | OneFootball

Barcelona veteran Ilkay Gundogan was one of the shining lights in a difficult season, arriving from Manchester City on a free and playing all but two of their games. He did so in a variety of different roles in midfield too.

Although much of the concern about injury has understandably surrounded the likes of Pedri and Lamine Yamal, Gundogan’s workload is certainly a cause for it in Can Barca. This season he played 51 times for the Blaugrana providing 5 goals and 14 assists, but racking up 4,180 minutes. Including his 14 appearances for Germany, Marca say that he is up to 5,205 minutes this year.

If he plays against Spain on Friday evening, it will be his 66th game of the season too, far surpassing his previous high of 59 matches. While it has not been the case for some time, it is worth remembering that Gundogan suffered from injuries frequently earlier in his career.

It will take him some time to recover from his efforts, and new Barcelona manager Hansi Flick will have to balance the immediate pressure to win with allowing the 33-year-old to rest properly after the Euros. He has shown how crucial he was to them last season, but asking the same of him this year seems as though it could be demanding too much.