Ilkay Gündogan

İlkay Gündoğan

İlkay Gündoğan (Turkish: [ilˈkaj ˈɟyndoan]; born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He was considered amongst the best midfielders in world football. A youth academy graduate of VfL Bochum, Gündoğan joined 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. In 2011, he signed for Borussia Dortmund, where he went on to make over 150 appearances, winni...

İlkay Gündoğan (Turkish: [ilˈkaj ˈɟyndoan]; born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He was considered amongst the best midfielders in world football. A youth academy graduate of VfL Bochum, Gündoğan joined 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. In 2011, he signed for Borussia Dortmund, where he went on to make over 150 appearances, winning a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in his debut season and scoring in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final they lost to Bayern Munich. Gündoğan signed for Manchester City in 2016, where he would go on to make over 300 appearances and win five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, and the Champions League. Appointed club captain in 2022, he led the team to a continental treble in the 2022–23 season, before departing the club. After a season in Spain with Barcelona, he rejoined Manchester City in 2024. Gündoğan made his debut for the Germany national team in 2011, after previously being capped by the under-18, under-19, under-20, and under-21 teams. He was in Germany's squads for the UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2020, and 2024 (for which he was captain), and the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022. Early life İlkay Gündoğan was born on 24 October 1990 in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, to Turkish parents. His grandfather on his father's side was a guest worker who moved from Balıkesir, Turkey, to the Ruhr region of Germany to work as a miner. Meanwhile, his wife stayed in Turkey with their children where they grew up and went to school. Club career Early career Having grown up in Gelsenkirchen, Gündoğan's boyhood affiliation was with Schalke 04, with which he had a brief spell as an eight-year old before being forced to take a break from the sport altogether because of growth problems. He subsequently confessed that this was one of the worst disappointments in his life, one which led him to reject Schalke when the club offered to sign him up again when he was 13-years old, fearing he would be somehow disappointed again. Gündoğan eventually came through VfL Bochum's youth academy. In 2008, he began playing for the club's reserve team before signing for 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. In his fourth Bundesliga match, on 19 September 2009, away against Bayern Munich, he made his first assist. His first goal for Nürnberg came on 20 February 2010 in a home match against Bayern Munich. Borussia Dortmund 2011–2013: Domestic double and UEFA Champions League final On 5 May 2011, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract with another Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut on 23 July in the 2011 DFL-Supercup against Schalke. After a 0–0 draw at Arena AufSchalke, he scored Dortmund's first attempt in the penalty shoot-out, which they went on to lose 4–3. On 17 December, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in a 4–1 victory away to SC Freiburg. He played once for the club's reserves on 22 February 2012, being replaced at half time by Rico Benatelli in an eventual 2–1 win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern II at the Stadion Rote Erde. On 20 March, Gündoğan scored a 120th-minute goal which saw Dortmund defeat Greuther Fürth and progress to the 2012 DFB-Pokal final. He played the entire final on 12 May, a 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich that gave Dortmund their first domestic double. In the 2012–13 season, Gündoğan was one of the central figures of Borussia Dortmund as they reached the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. He was praised for his play in the two semi-final matches against Real Madrid. On 25 May 2013, he scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 69th minute to keep Dortmund's hopes alive against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final played at Wembley Stadium in London. This was his first regular-time penalty kick in a game for Dortmund. Bayern Munich went on to win 2–1. 2013–2016: Contract extensions and DFB-Pokal final Gündoğan scored in the 2013 DFL-Supercup on 27 July as Dortmund won 4–2 against rivals Bayern Munich. In August, a back injury picked up while on international duty ruled him out for a full year. Gündoğan signed a new contract with Dortmund in April 2014, to keep him at the club until 2016. Gündoğan scored in the penalty-shootout victory over Bayern Munich on 28 April 2015, which sent Dortmund to the 2015 DFB-Pokal final. Two days later, it was announced he and Dortmund would not be renewing their contract after its expiration on 30 June 2015. However, on 1 July 2015, Gündoğan signed a contract extension to keep him at Dortmund until June 2017. Manchester City 2016–2017: First season and long-term injury On 2 June 2016, Gündoğan signed for Premier League club Manchester City on a four-year contract, for an estimated transfer fee of £20 million. He was the club's first signing under former Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola. Gündoğan made his debut on 14 September, playing for the first time in four months in a 2016–17 Champions League group stage game at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach. City won 4–0; Gündoğan won a penalty that was converted by Sergio Agüero. Three days later, Gündoğan started in the squad and scored with a low, right-footed shot against AFC Bournemouth in a 4–0 home win. He scored a brace and set up Agüero's goal against West Bromwich Albion in a 4–0 win at The Hawthorns on 29 October 2016. He continued his run of form by scoring twice against Barcelona in a 3–1 win at home in the group stages of the Champions League. On 14 December, in a 2016–17 Premier League game against Watford, Gündoğan was substituted in the 44th minute with knee ligament damage. Guardiola stated the player would be out injured for "several months." It was later confirmed Gündoğan tore his cruciate ligament in the right knee and would miss the remainder of the season. 2017–2022: Consecutive Premier League titles On 16 September 2017, Gündoğan made his first appearance for Manchester City in nine months, coming on as a substitute in the team's 6–0 2017–18 Premier League win away at Watford. Three months later, he scored his first goal of the season with a header, assisted by Leroy Sané, a goal that gave City the lead in their 4–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur. On 13 February 2018, he scored a brace, with one goal in each half, as City won 4–0 against FC Basel in the away leg of their round-of-sixteen tie in the 2017–18 Champions League. On 4 March, he set two Premier League passing records in a 1–0 home win over Chelsea: one for most passes attempted (174), and one for most passes completed (167) in a single game. The previous holder of both records had been his former City teammate Yaya Touré, who completed 157 passes from 168 attempts against Stoke City in December 2011. In August 2019, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract extension with City. On 21 September 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19, which obliged him to self-isolate for ten days. This was announced on the same day that City's first game of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers was to be played. After recovering, he came back to the squad and scored his first Premier league goal of the season on 15 December in a 1–1 home draw against West Bromwich Albion. On 7 February 2021, Gündoğan scored twice in a 4–1 away league-win over Liverpool, sealing City's first win at Anfield since 2003. On 12 February, he received the Premier League Player of the Month award for his performances throughout January. On 12 March, he received the award for a second consecutive month, with four goals and one assist in five games. In doing so, he became the first player for City to win back-to-back awards for the club. He was City's highest goalscorer of the league season with 13 goals. On 29 May, he played in the 2021 Champions League final, which ended in a 1–0 defeat against Chelsea. On 22 May 2022, he scored two goals in a 3–2 home victory against Aston Villa on the final day of the 2021–22 Premier League, a result that secured a sixth Premier League title for the club. 2022–2023: Treble-winning captain and initial farewell Gündoğan was chosen by his teammates as club captain on 14 August 2022, replacing the departing Fernandinho. On 6 May 2023, he scored both goals in a 2–1 win over Leeds United, which secured his club's 10th league win in a row during the 2022–23 Premier League. On 14 May, Gündoğan scored twice against Everton, one of his goals being a clever flick and the other being a well-taken free kick. Guardiola commented that the player had shown "again and again his quality and his importance". Such performances contributed greatly to City eventually winning in the league title. On 3 June 2023, Gündoğan scored the quickest goal in FA Cup final history, with a long-range volley within 12 seconds of the 2023 final against Manchester United. The match ended as a 2–1 victory for City, with Gündoğan scoring his brace with another volley in the 51st minute. Gündoğan scored a third goal in the 72nd minute, though it was disallowed for offside. Owing to his performance in the match, he was praised as "magnificent" by journalist Phil McNulty, and was voted as man of the match by readers of BBC Sport. Amidst rumours of potential exits to Barcelona or Arsenal, Guardiola restated his belief that Gündoğan should stay, saying that the director of football for Manchester City, Txiki Begiristain, was "working on" a new contract for the midfielder. On 10 June, he won his first Champions League title after a 1–0 victory over Inter Milan in the final, becoming the first captain of the club to lift the European Cup. On 26 June, City announced the departure of Gündoğan after seven years. Barcelona On 26 June 2023, Gündoğan signed for La Liga club Barcelona on a two-year contract on a free transfer. He scored his first goal for Barcelona on 28 October in the sixth minute against Real Madrid, becoming the second oldest player to score for the club in an El Clásico fixture, aged 33 years and 4 days, only behind Sergio Agüero. Return to Manchester City On 23 August 2024, after spending a single season away from the club, Gündoğan rejoined Manchester City, signing a one-year deal. Later that year, on 23 October, he featured in his 100th Champions League match in a 5–0 victory over Sparta Prague. On 25 May 2025, Gündoğan scored his first Premier League goal since returning to the club in a 2–0 victory against Fulham on the final day of the season. On 22 June, he scored a brace in City's 6–0 win against Al Ain in the FIFA Club World Cup group stage. Galatasaray On 2 September 2025, Gündoğan joined Süper Lig club Galatasaray on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal. A month later, on 4 October, he netted his first goal in a 1–1 draw with Beşiktaş. International career After years of playing for different youth teams, Gündoğan received his first call-up to the Germany senior team in August 2011 for a friendly match against Brazil, but did not feature in the game. On 11 October, he made his debut for Germany after coming on as a substitute for captain Philipp Lahm for the last six minutes of a 3–1 victory against Belgium in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf. In May 2012, he was selected in the German squad for Euro 2012. Germany reached the semi-finals, although Gündoğan did not play. On 26 March 2013, Gündoğan scored his first goal for Germany in a 4–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan at the Grundig Stadion in Nuremberg. He scored his second goal in his next match, a friendly on 14 August at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, as Germany came from 2–0 down to draw 3–3 against Paraguay. However, he was taken off with a back injury that ruled him out for the next year and forced him to miss the 2014 World Cup, which Germany would go on to win. Gündoğan returned to international football on 25 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw with Australia in a friendly. He participated in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, scoring in a 7–0 away v