"I spoke to Lewandowski before joining Barca"

Germany faced Poland in a friendly in June. Poland's victory was just their second over their neighbours in 22 games dating back to 1933, and left Germany with a single win in four games since their disastrous World Cup campaign in Qatar.
Robert Lewandowski took the opportunity to speak to Ilkay Gundogan about Barcelona. The striker told the German that it would be a good idea if he joined the Catalan giants.
"I had quite a long conversation just before the holidays. We played against Poland and Lewandowski asked me to talk to me after the game.
"He told me about Barcelona, the city, the lifestyle and I could see his eyes sparkling with happiness when he told me about it. I didn't need him to convince me but his message helped me a lot," Gundogan told reporters on Monday.
The 32-year-old also spoke about his compatriot Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and said he also helped him make a decision about his future.