Ilkay Gundogan: Pep Guardiola delivers transfer update on Man City midfielder amid Galatasaray ‘agreement’

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has provided an update on the future of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan amid reported interest from Galatasaray.

The 34-year-old re-joined the Citizens on a free transfer from Barcelona last summer after a challenging year-long experience in Catalonia and he featured regularly under Pep Guardiola last season.

Only Josko Gvardiol (53) has made more appearances for Man City across all competitions than Gundogan (51) since the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

Gundogan started 36 of those matches and most recently came on as a second-half substitute in City’s 2-0 win over Wydad AC in their opening Group G fixture at the FIFA Club World Cup.

The experienced midfielder - who captained Man City to a historic treble in 2022-23, lifting their first ever Champions League title - is currently focused on the newly-expanded tournament in the United States, but speculation over his future is rife with Turkish giants Galatasaray keen to lure him away from the Citizens.

Guardiola provides update on Gundogan’s Man City future

Gundogan is under contract until the end of next season after an automatic one-year extension was recently triggered, but a recent report claims that Man City are prepared to allow the midfielder to leave this summer.

A separate report from L’Equipe claims that Galatasaray have already reached a contractual agreement with the Germany international, who was born in Gelsenkirchen but grew up with Turkish parents in a household full of Galatasaray supporters.

Ahead of Man City’s next group-stage clash with Al-Ain on Sunday (local time), Guardiola has said that Gundogan is “absolutely part of my mind” and he is unaware of any interest in the midfielder’s services, but he has admitted that the size of his squad will need to be reduced at some stage this summer.

Commenting on Gundogan's future, Guardiola told reporters: “No news, good news. I don’t know anything, I didn’t speak with him, and if he will not be part he would not be here.

“But at the same time, we have - right now - a long squad, too many players, so we cannot go with 26, 27 players this season because there would be more without playing, and step by step maybe a few players are going to more. But right now, Ilkay is absolutely part of my mind and the team.”

Could Gundogan join Galatasaray this summer?

Earlier this year, Gundogan refused to rule out the possibility of finishing his career at his boyhood club Galatasaray, telling reporters: "Never say never. It would be something that would fill me with pride, but at the end of the day you have to look at the circumstances at a certain time."

Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk has also claimed that a transfer for Gundogan to the reigning Super Lig champions "would make everyone happy", adding: "Every team wants Ilkay Gundogan.

"We all know he is a good Galatasaray player. If he wears the Galatasaray jersey one day, it would make everyone happy."

Speculation over Gundogan’s future comes at a time when Man City are well-stocked in the midfield department following the January arrival of Nico Gonzalez, the summer addition of Tijjani Reijnders - viewed by some as Gundogan’s heir - and the return of Ballon d’Or winner Rodri from a long-term knee injury.

Kevin De Bruyne has now joined Napoli on a free transfer, but Mateo Kovacic is expected to return from Achilles surgery in September, while Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes are other midfield options at Guardiola’s disposal.

Written by
Oliver Thomas