Whatever happens next for Ilkay Gundogan and however he performs after achieving supremacy with Manchester City, Barcelona know they've acquired an elite footballer who truly yearned to join them.
And a player who might well be the bridge from where they are (fledgling) to where they desperately need to be: grown-up, tougher and smarter.
Had he wanted to, the 32-year-old could easily have multiplied his new salary by 10 thanks to the Saudia Arabia Public Investment Fund splurge. He chose not to.
Like his old Borussia Dortmund teammate Robert Lewandowski, whose goals effectively turned Barcelona into a title-winning team last season, Gundogan was seduced by the persuasive effervescence of coach Xavi Hernandez, by the beautiful life in the city where his new club is based and by the romantic idea of revitalising a footballing identity that remains faded and jaded.