On the anniversary of his departure from City - after a remarkable Treble - we look at the career of the understated and humble midfielder. This feature was first published in June 2023.
As a young boy, Ilkay Gundogan’s dream was to play for his home town club, Schalke.
The son of Turkish parents, Ilkay was invited to train with Schalke aged 8, but was forced to have time away from the game for no other reason than not being tall enough.
It was a dagger through the heart for the youngster and particularly because there was absolutely nothing he could do about. He had to let nature take its course, but it meant his hopes of representing the Gelsenkirchen club were over –at least for the time being.
He had the ability and technique, but the Schalke junior coaches couldn’t see past his size, where physique often trumps ability in junior football.
“It was a huge dream of mine to be able to play for Schalke,” he told RevierSport back in 2011. “For it to be over so quickly was not easy to take.”
Ilkay has never been one to dwell on misfortune, and over the next few years, he started to grow taller and until he was at a level where Schalke, who hadn’t forgotten about the boy they turned away, offered him a chance to start training with them again. He was 13.
The pain of his first departure from Schalke had left deep wounds in the psyche of Ilkay and the thought of it happening again was enough for him to turn his back on his boyhood heroes and instead focus on other opportunities that may arise – and in 2005, Bochum signed up the then 15 year-old for their academy and he never looked back.
He quickly caught the eye at Bochum where the technique, vision and – in a glimpse of what would come later at City – the goals started to flow freely.
Four years on, he would join Nuremberg after impressing for Bochum U19s and having already been selected by Germany U19s.
Bigger clubs were well aware of the teenage Ilkay who was rapidly becoming a coveted talent.
Nuremberg Head Coach Michael Oenning, who would become something of a mentor for Ilkay, said his new signing, still only 18, was “a true No.10” and he handed the teenager his debut as a sub on the final day of the 2.Bundesliga season, with Nuremberg beating Energie Cottbus in a play-off to win promotion to the top flight.
Ironically, he would make his full Nuremberg debut against hometown club Schalke and scored his first goal against Bayern Munich in February 2010. He would later score in the relegation play-off against Augsburg to help his club avoid an immediate drop to the second tier of German football.
By then, Nuremburg had changed management, but new boss Dieter Hecking quickly realised he had a player on his hands.
Touted as being well worth the £7m valuation he’d been given in the media, Hecking said: “It’s clear a boy like Ilkay Gundogan is attracting the interest of the biggest clubs. But I’d advise him not to move. With us, he can finish his schooling and develop further on the pitch.”
It was advice the youngster took on board, as he told Kicker: “I have to work harder and possibly even increase the price. I have faith in my ability, and I think that I have the potential to go further if I can keep learning.
“But it’s no disadvantage to play here for another year. The money can be tempting… but when you’re not playing it brings you nothing. At my age, money shouldn’t come first.”
It was a refreshing outlook from a young player making his way in the game and that mature thinking was one of the traits that has remained with Ilkay throughout his career.
But after another fine season, during which he helped Nuremberg up to a sixth-placed Bundesliga finish, the clamour to capture one of Germany’s most coveted talents grew too tempting for his club.
Borussia Dortmund had an offer of 4m Euros accepted for the 20 year-old in May 2011 and their upcoming coach Jurgen Klopp had added a crucial piece to his jigsaw.
“He brings with him a super attitude,” said Klopp. “He’s smart and willing to learn. Ilkay has a great passing game, is a complete footballer, and fits perfectly into our system.”
But replacing Dortmund's star playmaker Nuri Sahin brought with it expectation and pressure. He had moved from a club where survival was the first and foremost ambition to one with grand hopes of silverware domestically and in Europe, and that weighed heavily on Ilkay’s young shoulders.
“The expectations from the outside on Ilkay are very big,” said Klopp of his new signing. “It’s a difficult situation for him.”
The future Liverpool boss took Ilkay out of the limelight and carefully managed his game time. He’d done enough to win his first senior Germany cap in October 2010, but Klopp’s decision to mould his charge into a deeper lying midfielder paid off handsomely and he would become a regular again in the second part of the campaign as Dortmund completed a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double.
He'd played 36 times and scored four goals in his debut campaign at the Westfalenstadion and his second season would see Ilkay’s star continue to rise, causing Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim to dismiss speculation that Barcelona were ready to make a move for their prized asset. “We won’t sell Ilkay for any price in the world,” Watzke told Bild.
Ilkay played 45 times in the 2012/13 season and featured in all 12 of BVB’s Champions League game, scoring a penalty in the final at Wembley as Bayern Munich triumphed 2-1.
His upward trajectory, however, was about to take a severe blow.
On the opening day of the 2013/14 season, Ilkay suffered a devastating back injury that would sideline him for 14 months. In many ways, his career hung in the balance.
“It was quite a long time where I didn’t want to have surgery too early because surgery of the spine – for a footballer especially – is not easy, and of course it is dangerous,” Gundogan later told Sky Sports.
“I was really scared, and I didn’t know if I would ever be able to play football again.”
It was a relief to all when he did return in October 2014, but 18 months later, he suffered a dislocated his knee in training.
Injury had forced him to miss the 2014 World Cup and now he had to miss Euro 2016.
But while form and fitness is never guaranteed for any player, class, as the staying goes, is permanent and when Pep Guardiola became City manager in 2016, he made Ilkay his first signing at a bargain cost of £20m. That’s how highly he rated the German midfielder.
At the time, Ilkay said: “I’m thrilled to have signed for Manchester City. When I learned of City’s interest my heart was set on coming here and things moved very quickly.
“I loved my time with Borussia Dortmund and I would like to thank the club and the supporters for the five very happy years I spent there. They gave me a platform to play on and I became a better player because of the belief, patience and trust they showed in me.
“Now I have a new challenge and that is to achieve great things with City. The opportunity to work with a coach like Pep Guardiola is something I am really looking forward to and I am flattered to be the first signing the Club has made this summer.
“I can promise the City fans I will give everything to help us win titles both in England and the Champions League. These are exciting times. I have my best years ahead of me and I think we can achieve great things together.”
How prophetic those words turned out to be.
The victory over Inter earlier this month meant City were finally champions of Europe and how fitting that this quietly-spoken, almost shy German skipper was the man to lift the trophy every City fan had dreamed about for so long.
A Champions League, five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and two Community Shield winner’s medals later, Ilkay has won the lot.
And his contribution has been massive, with his personal highlights the two goals he scored against Aston Villa in 2021/22 helping secure the title, his brace of volleys from outside the box against Manchester United helping the Blues win 2-1 as the Club steamrollered its way to the Holy Grail itself, the Treble.
He made 304 appearances and scored 60 goals on his way to collecting an incredible 14 major trophies and, with his 33rd birthday on the horizon, he has decided to end his City career on the highest of highs.
When the goals rained in during 2020/21, Ilkay told Sky Sports: "I am not the sort of guy who likes to be the centre of attention but I just have to deal with it."
The season just gone saw him perhaps save his very best until last and he joins a pantheon of Manchester City who left on a high - Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho to name but a few - and just as they were irreplaceable, so is Gundo.
But Manchester City have a knack of finding wonderful footballers to fill these sizeable voids.
However, that is for another day - right now, we celebrate the City career of a player who gave his all for seven magnificent seasons. He won’t be forgotten and he will be forever welcomed by the blue half of Manchester.
And that £20m or so transfer fee?
What a bargain…
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