“They don’t play with the brain” - Barcelona superstar allegedly badmouths about teammates to Arda Guler after pre-season win over Real Madrid
Ilkay Gundogan has reportedly been spotted badmouthing his Barcelona teammates to Real Madrid's Arda Guler. The German midfielder called his teammates 'brainless' despite the El Clasico win in pre-season.
As per a report in Forbes, Gundogan stated that his teammates were not using their brains and giving away the ball too cheaply. He was quoted as saying by the publication:
"They don't play with the brain. If they play with the brain... they don't use it. Look at how many turnovers they've had in the last 15 minutes."
A Reddit user has offered some clarification in the comments and insisted it was a casual comment, which is common in Turkish. The user posted:
"It's ["brainless"] a common phrase in Turkish, and people use it all the time, whether in traffic or watching sports. Some players have a low basketball IQ and made a mistake? Brainless. Someone made a turn without giving a signal while driving? They don't have any brain. So İlkay whomever he is talking about doesn't say that they are idiots but more that they showed low football IQ."
Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 2-1 in the pre-season clash in the United States. Pau Victor scored twice for the Catalan giants, while Nico Paz pulled one back for Los Blancos towards the end of the match.
Ilkay Gundogan took shots at a Barcelona teammate earlier this year
Ilkay Gundogan took shots at Ronald Araujo after the Champions League quarter-final loss to Paris Saint-Germian (PSG). He blamed the Barcelona defender for his mistake that saw him sent off and turn the tide in the Ligue1 side's favor. He said via Goal:
"I am disappointed. Very disappointed actually as we were in such a good position. Not just after the first leg, but after the first goal we scored. Everything was in our hands and we just gave it away in the most simple of manners. We just gave it to Paris Saint-Germain and that's the most disappointing part."
"You know, in these kind of crucial moments you need to be sure to get the ball. If you don't, and again I don't know if he touched the ball or not, you need to stay away. I would prefer to concede a goal there or give the striker 1v1," Gundogan added.
Barcelona were leading 4-2 on aggregate when Araujo got sent off. They went on to concede four goals and lost 6-4.