No footballer in the Manchester City squad knows what it’s like to win the Champions League. Many of them, up to a total of thirteen, know the taste of defeat in the final because they were already in the team when they bent the knee against Chelsea a couple of seasons ago. But only one player who is under Guardiola’s orders has already played and lost another Champions League final. This is the German midfielder of Turkish origin Ä°lkay GündoÄŸan (32 years old), the captain of City. In 2013 he was a member of Borussia Dortmund, who lost against Bayern, despite the fact that he momentarily tied the game by converting a penalty. He is one of the main focuses of this Saturday’s game in Istanbul.
Not only because he is in a state of supine form, as he demonstrated with his double a week ago in the Cup final against Manchester United, but because his future is yet to be defined.
Gundogan’s contract expires on June 30 and he has several teams courting him. One of them is Barça, who has been chasing him for a long time. The Barcelona team, which due to its economic situation is always attentive to players for whom it does not have to face a transfer, believes its signing is well on track. To the point that he plans to announce it in the coming days, once the Champions League final has passed.
The main problem for Barcelona is that Gündogan has more offers on the table. Arsenal and PSG have joined the bid and City are interested in renewing his contract.
The policy of Guardiola’s team is usually to offer only one season to footballers of the German’s age, but, in this case and given his performance, it is not ruled out that Manchester City make an effort and tempt him with a longer contract because he intends to sign for two or three seasons. But everything will be revealed after the Istanbul game.
For Gundogan, after two lost finals, it represents the opportunity to expand a history that already shines with its own light with the titles won with City, a club he joined in 2016 and in which he has spent seven seasons. The English paid 27 million euros for him, at the express wish of Guardiola. Not in vain Gundogan was Pep’s first signing when he landed at the Etihad.
“We have an opportunity to do something special and win the treble and we don’t want to lose it,†says the footballer. “I can promise the fans that we will give everything we have to win in Istanbul,†he adds. Later, it will be seen. “I haven’t decided anything about my future yet.” For good offers it will not be.
