Barca made a multi-pronged move and finally signed Gundogan. The specific course of events in which Gundogan signed Barça:
(1) In November 2022, Jordi Cruyff contacted Gundogan, and later that year, the German informed Manchester City that he had no intention of renewing his contract.
(2) Barca made its first specific inquiry about Gundogan to Manchester City in February, before the match between Manchester United and Barca.
(3) In March, Manchester City offered Gundogan a contract extension with a reduced salary, and the player was skeptical of the extension.
(4) After learning that Manchester City were interested in renewing Gundogan's contract, Xavi began to convince the players by phone calls and messages.
(5) But just after the FA Cup final on June 3, Gundogan wanted to renew his contract with Manchester City, at which point Barca offered a better offer: a two-year contract with a salary of 10 million euros per year.
(6) After the Champions League final, Xavi asked ter Stegen to act as a lobbyist during German training camp to talk to Gundogan and persuade him.
(7) On June 16, during the match between Poland and Germany, Harvey also asked Lewandowski to convince him.
