Ilkay

Gundogan

Ilkay Gundogan first moved to City having earned a reputation as an energetic, intelligent midfielder during the early stages of his career in his native Germany. 

He spent time on the books of several clubs as a youth, including Borussia Dortmund’s arch-rivals Schalke 04, until his senior career began in earnest with a move to FC Nurnberg in 2009. 

His debut did not arrive until March 2010, but following a handful of appearances that season, he impressed in the side that finished sixth in the 2010-11 edition of the Bundesliga. 

That prompted Dortmund to make their move and his summer 2011 transfer paid off in fine style for both the Club and player. 

Gundogan’s form warranted a first senior cap for Germany against Belgium in October 2011, and he played a major role in Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund side as it went on to claim its second successive Bundesliga title. 

2012-13 saw Dortmund vie with Bayern Munich for both the German title and the Champions League, and while they were edged out by Bayern both domestically and in Europe, Gundogan’s stock continued to rise with some eye-catching performances. 

City fans also had their first chance to see their future player in action at close quarters in two group stage matches in the Champions League. Dortmund went all the way to the final at Wembley, with Gundogan sending Manuel Neuer the wrong way to equalise from the penalty spot. 

A niggling back injury forced him to miss virtually all of the 2013-14 season, and the subsequent World Cup, but he made a full recovery and continued to impress as Dortmund challenged for honours at home and abroad. 

Ilkay made his City debut against Borussia Monchengladbach in September 2016 and scored his first goal against Bournemouth four days later. 

He sustained a serious knee injury against Watford in December 2016, ruling him out for several months, but following his recovery, proved a pivotal figure during City’s 2018 Premier League title win. 

Ilkay won two Carabao Cups in 2018 and 2019, as well as adding another Premier League and FA Cup winner’s medal to his collection. 

He also played for Germany during their 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia. 

During his first spell at the Club, Gundogan was a key member of Pep Guardiola‘s squad and one of the manager’s first names on the team-sheet. 

The 2020/21 campaign was Ilkay’s fifth with City and also his most successful, personally. 

A glut of mid-season goals saw the German end the campaign as City’s leading scorer with 17 goals from 46 appearances. 

One of five club captains, Gundogan enjoyed another excellent year in 2021/22. 

He once more reached double figures for goals - 10 - and his two late goals against Aston Villa were part of an incredible turnaround that saw City recover from 0-2 down to win 3-2 and secure the Premier League title on the final day. 

A wonderful club servant, Gundogan was afforded the Club captaincy at the start of the 2022/23 campaign. 

Ilkay was also part of the German squad that took part at the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar, starting all three of their group games and scoring in Germany’s 2-1 loss to Japan. 

Gundogan spearheaded the team, continuously motivating the players during our push for another league title which came to fruition three games prior to the end of the 2022/23 season as we were crowned Premier League champions for a third consecutive season.  

The German international captained City to our second FA Cup trophy under Pep Guardiola in June. He scored both goals in our 2-1 win over Manchester United, with the first goal in the 12th second becoming the fastest goal to be scored in the final of the FA Cup.  

And to top off his best season for City, Gundogan led City out in Istanbul for the Champions League final against Inter. He lifted the trophy at full-time after beating the Italian outfit 1-0.  

Following our Treble success, he departed for Barcelona in the summer of 2023. 

And after making 51 appearances for the Catalan giants, he returned to the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2024/25 season – ready to write another chapter in his illustrious City career.