“A proud day for me”
İlkay Gündoğan announces change to Turkey
02.09.2025 – 5:24 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
At Manchester City, İlkay Gündoğan had been on the siding for a long time. Now he has found a new club. For him it goes to Turkey.
İlkay Gündoğan is about to switch from Manchester City to Galatasaray Istanbul. The 34-year-old returns to the land of his family roots. An official confirmation of the transfer is expected in the evening.
Gündoğan already published a children’s photo on social media – on his head a capy in the colors of Galatasaray. To do this, he posted two heart emojis in yellow and red as well as a lion emoji, the symbol of the club.
“I am very happy. It’s a proud day for me and my family,” Gündoğan is quoted on the club’s website after his arrival in Istanbul. In addition, the midfielder spoke about his former DFB colleague Leroy Sané: “Sané and I are good friends. We play well together.” Sané was switched from FC Bayern to the Bosphorus in the summer.
This time, too, the club accompanied the arrival of its newcomer with live images on their own YouTube channel-as at the performance of Sanés, which had also triggered great enthusiasm.
Gündoğan had canceled his participation in a award ceremony on Tuesday in Düsseldorf with reference to the upcoming club change. There, the Mevlüde-Genç medal was to be given to him by North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU)-an award for special commitment in the field of understanding and tolerance.
Gündoğan recently no longer played a major role in the Manchester City English English club. The midfielder had been considered a possible departure for a long time. While the transfer window is already closed in most European leagues, switching to Turkey is still possible until September 12th.
In the Champions League, Galatasaray meets Eintracht Frankfurt on September 18. At the end of the group phase, the Turkish club will be a guest at Gündoğan’s ex-club Manchester City on January 28, 2026.