İlkay Gündoğan is a German professional footballer known for his good performances at 1. FC Nürnberg and Borussia Dortmund . His move to Dortmund helped establish himself as one of the most dynamic midfielders in the modern game. His passing range and stormy runs in midfield often give his team an advantage in attack. It was precisely for this reason that he was picked up by Pep Guardiola immediately after beginning his management stint with Manchester City . He has a huge social media following with more than 3 million followers on Instagram.

Born name

Ilkay Gundogan

nickname

İlkay

Sun sign

Scorpio

Place of birth

Gelsenkirchen, Germany

residence

Manchester, England, United Kingdom

nationality

training

İlkay Gündoğan polished his game and skills at the youth academies of SV Gelsenkirchen-Hessler 06 , Schalke 04 , SSV Buer , and VfL Bochum .

occupation

Professional soccer player

family

• Father – Irfan Gundoğan
• Mother – Ayten Gündoğan
• Siblings – Ilker Gündoğan (brother)

Manager

İlkay Gündoğan is represented by his uncle Ilhan Gündoğan.

position

midfield player

Shirt number

35 – VfL Bochum

22 – 1 FC Nuremberg

21 – Borussia Dortmund, Germany national team

8 – Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City

7, 14, 19, 2 – Germany national team

To build

Athletic

Height

5 feet 10 inches or 180 cm

weight

78 kg or 172 lbs

girlfriend/spouse

İlkay Gündoğan dated –

1. Sila Sahin (2013-2015) – In 2013, Gundogan started dating Turkish actress and model Sila Sahin. She even decided to move from Berlin to Dortmund to live with her boyfriend. However, their relationship did not last long and they decided to quietly part in 2015.

race/ethnicity

near East

He is of Turkish descent.

hair colour

Black

eye color

dark brown

sexual orientation

Just

distinguishing features

Often has a trimmed beard and mustache

brand promotion

İlkay Gündoğan has an Adidas personal endorsement deal , which requires him to wear Adidas shoes for his professional matches. He has also appeared in television advertisements for Adidas .

religion

Islam

He is a devout Muslim and often prays before his football games.

Known for

His solid midfield performances for German club, Borussia Dortmund . During his 5 seasons at the club he made 157 appearances in all competitions. He has managed to win Bundesliga titles, DFB-Pokal , and DFL-Supercup with the club.

First football game

• In December 2008 he made his professional debut with VfL Bochum in a Regionalliga West game against Eintracht Trier . The game ended in a 2-3 loss for his team.
• In July 2011 he made his first appearance for Borussia Dortmund in a DFL-Supercup match against Schalke 04 . However, his team lost the tie on penalties.
• In September 2016, he made his debut for Manchester City in a UEFA Champions League group stage game against Borussia Mönchengladbach . His team won the tie 4-0.
• In October 2011, İlkay made his first international appearance for the German national team in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium. He was sent for Phillip Lahm with 36 minutes remaining in the match.

Strengthen

• pass
• vision
• Technical ability
• Ability to control the pace of the game
• intelligence
• Working speed

weaknesses

• He is easily injured.
• Strength
• dogfights

First TV show

In addition to broadcasting his football matches, he made his TV show debut in the sports documentary series Das Aktuelle Sportstudio in March 2012 .

İlkay Gundoğan Facts

1. When he was 8 years old his brief association with Schalke came to an end when they decided to dump him. As his game improved another opportunity presented him Schalke at the age of 13 his earlier rejection had hit him and he decided against joining them.
2. In 2005 he moved to the youth academy of VfL Bochum . He eventually managed to develop through the age groups and make his professional debut with the Bochum club.
3. He moved from VfL Bochum to 1. FC Nürnberg In 2009 he made his breakthrough with 22 league games in the 2009/10 Bundesliga season .
4. In his fourth league game, İlkay managed to record an assist in an away game against Bayern Munich . He scored his first Bundesliga goal against the same side in a match against February 2010.
5. He moved to Borussia Dortmund in May 2011 when club manager Jurgen Klopp sensed he would bring dynamism to his midfield. Dortmund had paid a transfer fee of €4 million.
6. In December 2011, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in an away game against SC Freiburg . They managed to win the match 4-1.
7. In his debut season with Dortmund he played in 28 league games and helped his side claim Bundesliga titles. Dortmund also managed to win the DFB Cup trophy.
8. He played a key role in Dortmund ‘s DFL-Supercup convincing Bayern Munich showing a masterful performance playing right behind striker Robert Lewandowski and scoring his side’s third goal in a 4-2 win.
9. In August 2013, he suffered a back injury while on international duty with the German national team. He had to undergo surgery and was unable to return to the field for almost a year.
10. In April 2015, it was announced that he had refused to sign a contract extension with Dortmund as his contract expired in July 2016. However, he changed his stance and signed a contract extension in July 2015.
11. He moved to Manchester City from Dortmund in June 2016, and the English side agreed to pay a £20million transfer fee for the German player. He was the first player signed by new manager Pep Guardiola.
12. His promising start in life at Manchester City was cut short in December 2016 when he injured his knee in a league game against Watford . He was ruled out for the entire season. In September 2017, he returned in a league game against the pros at Watford . It had been 9 months since he suffered the injury against the same team.
13. He scored his first professional goal for Manchester City in a Premier League match against Bournemouth in September 2016. His side went on a rampage to a 4–0 win at Manchester City Stadium .
14. In March 2013, he scored his first goal for Germany national team in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan . The Germans won the game 4-1.
15. In May 2018, he became scandalous for posing for a picture with controversial Turkish President Recep Erdogan during his visit to London. Although he was a German citizen, he had referred to Erdogan as “my president”. His decision to pose with Erdogan alongside Mesut Ozil did not go down well in Germany as he endorsed Erdogan ahead of the elections. Erdogan’s decision to fight activists and journalists did not go down well in liberal Germany.
16. A few weeks after his meeting with Erdogan, he was booed during a World Cup warm-up match against the German fans in Saudi Arabia . He was also mocked by fans during World Matches Championship.
17. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.