Ilkay Gundogan responds to Pep Guardiola’s claim over second Man City transfer exit

Ilkay Gundogan has been linked with a move to Galatasaray this summer and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has hinted that the veteran midfielder will be on the move

Ilkay Gundogan insists he wants to stay at Manchester City and fight for his place. Turkish giants Galatasaray want to sign Gundogan this summer and City boss Pep Guardiola hinted they may allow him to leave because the squad is too big.

But Gundogan, 34, says he wants to stay at the Etihad and claims he is still in good enough shape to help City win more trophies. City midfielder Gundogan, who re-signed last summer for a second spell at the club, also said it remains a “big privilege” to play for Guardiola as he made it clear he wants to stay.

Gundogan, who scored twice in City’s 6-0 win over Al Ain in their second Club World Cup Group match, said: “I have a one year contract. And I’m very happy here. I think everyone knows that. And I am committed to the competition.

“And I’m enjoying my football. I still believe that I have several years in me. To play on the highest level by taking good care of myself. And I think I’ve proven that. Also last season I didn’t miss a game. So I’m available. I’m fit. I feel really good. And I want to play on the highest level for much longer.”

Gundogan left two years ago to move to Barcelona after helping City win a fourth consecutive Premier League title but rejoined last summer. However, Gundogan struggled to hold down a regular starting place and City’s season ended in frustration as they finished the campaign empty-handed.

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But Gundogan insisted that he still wants to play for Guardiola at City and is fully committed to giving everything to win more trophies. He said: “What is it like to play for him? It’s a big privilege. I mean, otherwise I would have not joined again.

“Otherwise I would have not spent so many years with him at this club. I think it’s just something that he has, that he’s able to do. To make players feel they have to compete on the highest level. They have to reach their best to be able to play in this team, first of all.

“But then also you know that every training session, every game is just a joy. If it turns out to be the way we want to play. That’s why he’s the best. That’s why he has won so much, so many titles. That’s why probably all the players in the world would love to play for him. And the same reason is for me.”

City thrashed Al Ain 6-0 in their second Club World Cup match and are level on goal difference with Juventus but must beat the Italians on Thursday to top the Group and avoid a potentially tricky last 16 tie with Real Madrid in Miami.

Gundogan scored twice, Claudio Echeverri hit a terrific free kick, Haaland scored a penalty while Rayan Cherki and Oscar Bobb were also on target but they missed a hatful of other chances.

That left some of the players upset at the final whistle because they needed one more goal to overtake Juventus which would have meant they only needed a draw with the Italians. Now they must win. Gundogan was critical of the City performance at the start of the second half.

Gundogan added: “We set that as our target at half time but unfortunately we didn’t start the second half good enough, we were a bit slow. It felt like it cost us at the end. It’s just the standard that we have set for ourselves.

“At the end if you’re not able to beat Juventus then they might deserve it. A seventh goal would have given us a higher probability but it also doesn’t matter: we need a good performance against Juve and to win the game.

“That is not going to change the way we approach it. It’s difficult to find reasons for it sometimes. It’s something that shouldn’t have happened and maybe doesn’t make sense because of the way we performed in the first half.

“But even in the first half there were short periods where we were not that precise in terms of our passing and the way we played. I think it was a coincidence to be honest but it’s something we need to observe and get better because at the highest level you should not allow yourself to be not good for such a long time.

“It felt quite long to be honest. It felt at least five or 10 minutes too long in terms of the standards we have.”

City and Juventus have both won their opening Group matches and scored goals aplenty. Al Ain and Wydad have yet to take a point and that just highlights the gap between teams in this tournament.

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