Gundogan left City this summer to join Barcelona after seven trophy-laden years at the Etihad.
Indeed, his final season was perhaps his finest as he captained the team to an historic Treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, scoring a flurry of vital goals in the final stages of the campaign.
And speaking ahead of our friendly with Bayern Munich on Wednesday, Guardiola was full of praise for Gundogan‘s impact and wished him all the best with his move to La Liga.
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“What could I say - it was an incredible seven years together,” Guardiola said.
“I don’t have the words to describe my gratitude to him. I wish him all the best in the challenge of his life.
“Barcelona have bought an incredible player, but this is life. Everyone has family challenges.
“We tried to convince him to stay, but we could not.
“We wish him all the best.”
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Guardiola also discussed the process of replacing Gundogan as Club captain.
He will speak with the four remaining captains – Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Rodrigo – to determine a date for the squad vote, which he says is likely to be at the end of the month once the players are back from Asia.
“[The vote will take place] When we come back to Manchester, so maybe 31st [July] when the squad will be definitive.
“I will speak with all the captains and they will decide one.”
City’s preseason continues on Wednesday as we face Bayern Munich in Tokyo, three days after our entertaining 5-3 win over Yokohama F. Marinos.
It is the second of three friendlies scheduled as part of our Asia Tour, with the final game against Atletico Madrid in Seoul taking place on Sunday.
And Guardiola, who managed Bayern for three years between 2013-16, says it is always special to take on the German champions.
“When you have been in a place and they take care of you like they did me and my family, the city, the club, many things always you are happy to see old friends,” he said.
“There are few players [left] but always it is nice, especially in friendly games and Champions League is different but it is an incredible test for us.
“Always in preseason it is best to face these kinds of teams. You see the reality of the position you’re in right now because we have the Community Shield around the corner, it’s really important.
“Always I am so happy to play against them.”
WATCH OUR ASIA TOUR MATCHES ON CITY+ OR RECAST
CITY+ and Recast will exclusively show all pre-season tour games live in the UK.
Fans in the UK and Germany can watch our Bayern Munich clash on 26 July.
We face Atletico Madrid on 30 July, with fans all over the world (except South Korea) able to watch the action.
CITY+ is also where you will find the entire catalogue of City Studios documentaries and vodcasts.
Watchable through our official website or app*, CITY+ is available via an annual subscription of £34.99 a year, saving you £24 on our monthly offering.
Choose monthly and pay £4.99 a month with the option to cancel anytime.
Official Cityzens and Season Ticket Members can subscribe annually for £30 a year, a saving of £29.
Alternatively, you can join us on Recast for a flexible, pay-per-view option on all the same exciting content found on CITY+.
Simply follow our official channel and pay for the matches, documentaries, full-match replays and vodcasts you want to see.
*Tour matches will not be available to watch on our TV app due to regional restrictions
