İlkay Gündoğan (Turkish: [ilˈkaj ˈɟyndoan]; born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City.

In 2011, he signed for Borussia Dortmund, where he went on to make over 150 appearances, winning a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in his debut season and scoring in the 2013 UEFA Champions League final they lost to Bayern Munich.

[4] His grandfather on his father's side was a guest worker who moved from Balıkesir, Turkey, to the Ruhr region of Germany to work as a miner.

[6] Having grown up in Gelsenkirchen, Gündoğan's boyhood affiliation was with Schalke 04, with which he had a brief spell as an eight-year old before being forced to take a break from the sport altogether because of growth problems.

[12] On 20 March, Gündoğan scored a 120th-minute goal which saw Dortmund defeat Greuther Fürth and progress to the 2012 DFB-Pokal final.

[15][16] On 25 May 2013, he scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 69th minute to keep Dortmund's hopes alive against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final played at Wembley Stadium in London.

[23] On 2 June 2016, Gündoğan signed for Premier League club Manchester City on a four-year contract, for an estimated transfer fee of £20 million.

[24] Gündoğan made his debut on 14 September, playing for the first time in four months in a 2016–17 Champions League group stage game at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

[25] Three days later, Gündoğan started in the squad and scored with a low, right-footed shot against AFC Bournemouth in a 4–0 home win.

[28] On 14 December, in a 2016–17 Premier League game against Watford, Gündoğan was substituted in the 44th minute with knee ligament damage.

[30] On 16 September 2017, Gündoğan made his first appearance for Manchester City in nine months, coming on as a substitute in the team's 6–0 2017–18 Premier League win away at Watford.

[32] On 13 February 2018, he scored a brace, with one goal in each half, as City won 4–0 against FC Basel in the away leg of their round-of-sixteen tie in the 2017–18 Champions League.

[36] After recovering, he came back to the squad and scored his first Premier league goal of the season on 15 December in a 1–1 home draw against West Bromwich Albion.

[51] On 10 June, he won his first Champions League title after a 1–0 victory over Inter Milan in the final, becoming the first captain of the club to lift the European Cup.

[53] On 26 June 2023, Gündoğan signed for La Liga club Barcelona on a two-year contract on a free transfer.

[56] On 23 August 2024, after spending a single season away from the club, Gündoğan rejoined Manchester City, signing a one-year deal.

[60] On 11 October, he made his debut for Germany after coming on as a substitute for captain Philipp Lahm for the last six minutes of a 3–1 win against Belgium in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf.

[63] On 26 March 2013, Gündoğan scored his first goal for Germany in a 4–1 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan at the Grundig Stadion in Nuremberg.

[74] After the return of Neuer from injury, new coach Julian Nagelsmann confirmed that Gündogǎn would retain the captaincy, with Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Müller serving as the team's vice-captains.

[79] On 19 June, he was awarded Player of the Match in a 2–0 victory against Hungary, in which he scored a goal and provided an assist, securing his country's qualification to the knockout phase.

[83] He was able to fit into Dortmund's "explosive" style "by combining creativity and outstanding passing with the defensive attributes and tireless energy needed".

"[84] In a 2016 UEFA profile, Philip Röber also observed that Gündoğan "excels in possession-based teams and can dictate a side's tempo.

[85][86] Although he was not statistically as productive as his other midfield teammates, specifically in terms of the number of goals and assists, he drew praise in the media for his ability to circulate possession and create space for other players.

The incident caused political controversy in Germany, and Gündoğan was jeered by German fans when playing for the national team weeks later.

[93] He recalls those years as some of the best of his professional life, telling "I had my arguably happiest time as a footballer at the beginning of my career at age 18/19 with 1.