Ilkay Gundogan's wife has added fuel to the fire in defending the Barcelona midfielder after his public criticism of team-mates Ronald Araujo, Joao Cancelo and Robert Lewandowski.
Ex-Manchester City star Gundogan firstly accused defender Araujo of 'killing' Barca's Champions League hopes thanks to his early red card in their quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain. Barcelona were still two goals ahead on aggregate, though, until strikes from former player Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha either side of half-time got PSG back on level terms.
The blame for Vitinha's long-range strike was put at Lewandowski's door, with the Barca striker half-heartedly attempting to block the ex-Wolves midfielder's shot - something which Gundogan picked up on. Cancelo then slid in on Dembele to concede a penalty just five minutes later, with Gundogan describing his reckless challenge as a 'mistake at a crucial moment'.
Two goals from Kylian Mbappe then confirmed PSG's place in the semi-finals, despite losing 3-2 in Paris last week and even conceding first on Tuesday to give themselves a mountain to climb. Reflecting on the disastrous defeat in a series of post-match interviews, an angry Gundogan took aim at Araujo, Cancelo and Lewandowski - although he didn't mention any by name.
In the 24 hours or so since, some Barcelona fans have criticised the Germany international for outing his team-mates, suggesting that his comments won't be healthy for the dressing room. Now his TV presenter wife, Sara, has jumped to his defence.
Posting a picture of Gundogan lifting the Champions League trophy while at City last season on her Instagram story, she wrote: "This man is a hard working guy and his football opinions are about improving and he is giving everything to this team. His mentality is a treble mentality."
Gundogan - who won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in 2023, made most of his inflammatory comments in an interview with CBS Sports. "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," he bemoaned.
"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."
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On Araujo's sending off, the 33-year-old explained. "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.
"Although, the ball was played quite far ahead so I don't even know if he would have reached the ball. But, maybe let our goalkeeper save us or even concede a goal because to go a player down so early on just kills your game."
Moving on to Vitinha's strike allowed by Lewandowski, which made it 4-4 on aggregate, Gundogan added: "Again, it's another mistake. We have to step out there. We can't let him shoot because he was so free. It wasn't anything we haven't trained before. The closest player to the ball has to step out.
"We were three with three and Vitinha was the fourth man. Someone has to step out. No one did or they did it too late. It was a good shot and they got their second goal. But, it wasn't necessary at all. It's too late right now."
Barcelona have the chance to respond to Tuesday's nightmare when they travel to face arch rivals Real Madrid this Sunday evening. A win for defending champions Barca would see Real's lead at the top chopped down to five points, while victory for the hosts would surely see the La Liga title return to Madrid.
In the first El Clasico of the season, a dramatic 2-1 loss on home soil, Gundogan made headlines once again when he revealed that he was surprised by his team-mates' reaction in the dressing room. "I don't want to say something wrong, to be honest, but I was now in the dressing room, and of course people are disappointed, but especially after such a big game and such a result, I wish (for) more frustration, more anger and more disappointment," he fumed.
"This is a little bit the problem. I don't know, there has to be more emotion, especially when you lose and you know you can perform better in certain situations, and you just don't react and it transfers to the pitch."
He'll be hoping for a better outcome at the Bernabeu.
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