Manchester City have announced the return of former captain Ilkay Gundogan, who has signed an initial one-year contract with the option for an additional year.<\/p>\n
Gundogan, who was Pep Guardiola’s first signing in 2016, rejoins City from Barcelona after a successful seven-year stint and a single season with the Spanish club.<\/p>\n
During his first tenure at the Etihad, the 33-year-old German midfielder won 14 trophies and scored 60 goals in 304 appearances. <\/p>\n
Reflecting on his time at City, Gundogan stated, “My seven years at Manchester City were a time of pure contentment for me, both on and off the pitch.”<\/p>\n
He expressed enthusiasm about reuniting with Guardiola, saying, “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.<\/p>\n
Honestly, I cannot wait to wear the City shirt again.”<\/p>\n
Despite a notable debut season at Barcelona, Gundogan’s departure was driven by the club\u2019s financial constraints, which made room for new signings like Dani Olmo. <\/p>\n
His exit helps Barcelona meet La Liga\u2019s spending limits.<\/p>\n
Gundogan acknowledged the tough circumstances of his exit but expressed his gratitude, writing on Instagram, \u201cI am leaving in a difficult situation, but if my departure can help the club financially, it makes me a bit less sad.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also noted, \u201cI have been looking forward to helping my team-mates in the new campaign\u201d and was thankful for his time at Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Guardiola, who was taken by surprise at Gundogan’s return, said, \u201cIt was a complete surprise, unexpected.<\/p>\n
We didn\u2019t have any doubts when the possibility to re-sign him was open, and we\u2019re absolutely delighted that he\u2019s back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gundogan, who has 82 caps for Germany, retired from international football after Euro 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Manchester City have announced the return of former captain Ilkay Gundogan, who has signed an initial one-year contract with the option for an additional year. Gundogan, who was Pep Guardiola’s first signing in 2016, rejoins City from Barcelona after a successful seven-year stint and a single season with the Spanish club. During his first tenure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":143750,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[434,520],"class_list":{"0":"post-143749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-gundogan","9":"tag-manchester-city"},"yoast_head":"\n