Ilkay Gundogan plays as a midfielder for Manchester City and the German national team.
Gundogan is of Turkish descent having been born to two Turkish parents, but was born in Germany.
Gundogan won the 2011/12 Bundesliga title with Dortmund as well as the DFB Pokal that same season. In 2013, he won the DFL-Supercup and played in the final of the UEFA Champions League, which Dortmund lost 2-1 to Bayern Munich. He scored Dortmund's only goal - a penalty in the 69th minute.
Gundogan moved to Manchester City in 2016, where his career continued to grow under Pep Guardiola.
During his seven years at City, Gundogan won the Premier League five times, in addition to two FA Cups - scoring the quickest goal in final history at 12 seconds - four League Cups and the Champions League.
However due financial issues, Gundogan left the Nou Camp after just one season and returned to Manchester City on a one-year contract.
A product of the VfL Bochum academy, Gundogan faced his fair share of setbacks even before he graduated into senior football. Perhaps most notably, he was let go by FC Schalke 04 at the age of eight.
However, after graduating from the youth system at VfL Bochum and impressing in his stint at FC Nuremberg, Gundogan earned his big move to Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut for BVB against rivals Schalke in July 2011 in the DFL-Supercup.
Not only did Gundogan make 28 Bundesliga appearances in Dortmund's second title-winning season on the trot in 2011/12, but he also played all of the DFB-Pokal final as Dortmund beat Bayern Munich 5-2 to claim the double.
Gundogan levelled the scores from the penalty spot in the 69th minute. However, Arjen Robben put Bayern into the lead in the 89th minute and ultimately sealed a 2-1.
Good memories from 2012 - what an unforgettable game against Greuther Fürth! Wishing my former club @BVB all the best for the upcoming season! ⚽👍🏼 #throwback #hejabvb #BitteDiesmalNiemandenAufDemParkplatzVergessen 😂 pic.twitter.com/EHaLD3XGoM
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) August 20, 2018
In July 2013, Dortmund beat Bayern 4-2 in the DFL-Supercup and Gundogan scored in the match.
However, Dortmund struggled to keep pace with a financially powerful Bayern over the next few years. Jurgen Klopp left the club in 2015 and Gundogan followed suit a year later, joining Manchester City ahead of the 2016/17 season.
Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan lifts the Premier League trophy
Gundogan signed for Manchester City for £20million, despite reportedly having attracted interest in the past from city rivals Manchester United in the past.
Gundogan's first season with Manchester City was difficult. He made his City debut in September in the UEFA Champions League against Borussia Monchengladbach. However, three months later, he was substituted in the 44th minute against Watford with knee ligament damage and was ruled out for the rest of the season.
Gundogan made his return in September 2017 in a 6-0 Premier League victory over Watford. Manchester City were beginning to establish themselves as the team to beat in the Premier League title race.
On 4 March 2018, Gundogan broke the record for most passes completed (167) and most attempted (174) in a Premier League match against Chelsea which ended in a 1-0 win for City.
After helping City to back-to-back Premier League titles, scoring four goals in 30 appearances in the 2017/18 campaign and six in 31 in the 2018/19 league season, Gundogan signed a new four-year contract with Manchester City in August 2019.
Gundogan won the Premier League Player of the Month award in January 2021 and then again in February of that year.
He became City's top Premier League scorer that season with 13 goals, but missed out on lifting the Champions League trophy after being part of the side that lost to Chelsea 1-0 in the final.
Gundogan played another key role in Manchester City's title winning side of the 2021/22 season, making 42 appearances and scoring ten across all competitions.
Ahead of the 2022/23 season Gundogan was named as club captain and led the side to amazing Treble, by winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
He scored the quickest goal in FA Cup final history, with a long-range volley in the 12th second of the match against local rivals Manchester United in a 2-1 win.
At the end of the season it was confirmed that he would be moving to Barcelona on a free transfer after his contract with Manchester City had expired. He had made 304 appearances for the club and scored 60 goals.
Gundogan become a mainstay of the Barca side, playing 51 matches and scoring five goals across all competitions, but financial issues at the Nou Camp hastened his exit after just one season.
He rejoined Manchester City on August 23, 2024 on a one-year contract.
“My seven years at Manchester City were a time of pure contentment for me, both on and off the pitch,” Gundogan said upon his return.
“I grew as a person and a player, developed a special relationship with the City fans and enjoyed amazing success. It was an exceptional period in my life.
“To have the opportunity to return here means so much. Everyone knows the respect I have for Pep – he is the best manager in the world and working with him every day makes you a better player. You feel constantly challenged, which for any professional is exactly what you want. I cannot wait to work with him again."
Gundogan was a youth international at various levels for Germany and earned his first senior national team call-up in August 2011 for a friendly against Brazil. However, he did not feature in the game itself.
He finally made his Germany debut in October 2011 when he came on in place of Philipp Lahm as a late substitute in a 3-1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying win over Belgium. Gundogan was part of the squad for that tournament, but did not feature.
Last game before the World Cup🏆⚽... and still grateful to play for this country 🇩🇪 // Letztes Spiel vor der Weltmeisterschaft 🏆⚽️... und immer noch dankbar, für dieses Land zu spielen 🇩🇪 #DieMannschaft #ZSMMN #BestNeverRest #RoadToWorldCup @DFB_Team pic.twitter.com/2YVUCdaPkP
— Ilkay Gündogan (@IlkayGuendogan) June 9, 2018
Gundogan was in Germany's 2018 World Cup squad, but the tournament was one to forget as the defending champions suffered a group stage exit in Russia.
At Euro 2020 a transitional Germany team failed to really impress, although Gundogan was still a vital part of their side.
The Man City star started their opening match against France, which they lost, and then he was exceptional in their 4-2 win over defending champions Portugal. A nervy 2-2 draw over Hungary secured Germany's progression into the knockout stage.
Gundogan's injury curse struck again then, though, with him forced to sit out their 2-0 defeat to England at Wembley.
He was part of Germany's ill-fated World Cup 2022 campaign, playing all three group games as they crashed out before the knockout stages for the second consecutive tournament.
Gundogan received criticism for meeting Turkish president President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoayan in London and referring to him as "my president" despite being a German citizen.
The fallout over this incident led to Gundogan's international teammate, Mesut Ozil, retiring from international football, as he was also targeted by supporters and the German football authorities for meeting Erdoayan.
Gundogan reportedly earned €9million per season at Barcelona, which works at around €173,000 per week.
Barcelona's president Joan Laporta has dismissed claims that Ilkay Gundogan's exit was driven by financial woes, expressing confidence in the club's financial recovery.
Ilkay Gundogan is thrilled to be back at Manchester City and says it feels like he has never left.
Manchester City have sealed the return of Ilkay Gundogan from FC Barcelona, marking his re-signing with the Premier League champions.
Ilkay Gundogan has reportedly notified FC Barcelona of his intent to leave the club this summer, as reported by Sport.
Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has assured supporters that he is in good shape despite being on the receiving end of a dangerous tackle in the win over Scotland on Friday.
Euro 2024 hosts Germany kick off the tournament against one of qualifying’s surprise packages, Scotland, at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Friday (2000 BST)
Veteran midfielder Ilkay Gundogan admits he has been learning from Barcelona's young players, especially their ability to play freely without feeling pressure.
