İlkay Gündoğan (Turkish: [ilˈkaj ˈɟyndoan]; born 24 October 1990) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Süper Lig club Galatasaray.
A youth academy graduate of VfL Bochum, Gündoğan joined 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. 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. Gündoğan signed for Manchester City in 2016, where he would go on to make over 300 appearances and win five Premier League titles, four EFL Cups, two FA Cups, and the Champions League. Appointed club captain in 2022, he led the team to a continental treble in the 2022–23 season, before departing the club. After a season in Spain with Barcelona, he rejoined Manchester City in 2024.
Gündoğan made his debut for the Germany national team in 2011, after previously being capped by the under-18, under-19, under-20, and under-21 teams. He was in Germany's squads for the UEFA European Championship in 2012, 2020, and 2024 (for which he was captain), and the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022.
İlkay Gündoğan was born on 24 October 1990 in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, to Turkish parents. 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. Meanwhile, his wife stayed in Turkey with their children where they grew up and went to school.
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. He subsequently confessed that this was one of the worst disappointments in his life, one which led him to reject Schalke when the club offered to sign him up again when he was 13-years old, fearing he would be somehow disappointed again.
Gündoğan eventually came through VfL Bochum's youth academy. In 2008, he began playing for the club's reserve team before signing for 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. In his fourth Bundesliga match, on 19 September 2009, away against Bayern Munich, he made his first assist. His first goal for Nürnberg came on 20 February 2010 in a home match against Bayern Munich.
2011–2013: Domestic double and UEFA Champions League final
On 5 May 2011, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract with another Bundesliga club, Borussia Dortmund. He made his debut on 23 July in the 2011 DFL-Supercup against Schalke. After a 0–0 draw at Arena AufSchalke, he scored Dortmund's first attempt in the penalty shoot-out, which they went on to lose 4–3. On 17 December, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in a 4–1 victory away to SC Freiburg. He played once for the club's reserves on 22 February 2012, being replaced at half time by Rico Benatelli in an eventual 2–1 win over 1. FC Kaiserslautern II at the Stadion Rote Erde. On 20 March, Gündoğan scored a 120th-minute goal which saw Dortmund defeat Greuther Fürth and progress to the 2012 DFB-Pokal final. He played the entire final on 12 May, a 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich that gave Dortmund their first domestic double.
In the 2012–13 season, Gündoğan was one of the central figures of Borussia Dortmund as they reached the 2013 UEFA Champions League final. He was praised for his play in the two semi-final matches against Real Madrid. 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. This was his first regular-time penalty kick in a game for Dortmund. Bayern Munich went on to win 2–1.
2013–2016: Contract extensions and DFB-Pokal final
Gündoğan scored in the 2013 DFL-Supercup on 27 July as Dortmund won 4–2 against rivals Bayern Munich. In August, a back injury picked up while on international duty ruled him out for a full year. Gündoğan signed a new contract with Dortmund in April 2014, to keep him at the club until 2016.
Gündoğan scored in the penalty-shootout victory over Bayern Munich on 28 April 2015, which sent Dortmund to the 2015 DFB-Pokal final. Two days later, it was announced he and Dortmund would not be renewing their contract after its expiration on 30 June 2015. However, on 1 July 2015, Gündoğan signed a contract extension to keep him at Dortmund until June 2017.
2016–2017: First season and long-term injury
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. He was the club's first signing under former Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola. 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. City won 4–0; Gündoğan won a penalty that was converted by Sergio Agüero. 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. He scored a brace and set up Agüero's goal against West Bromwich Albion in a 4–0 win at The Hawthorns on 29 October 2016. He continued his run of form by scoring twice against Barcelona in a 3–1 win at home in the group stages of the Champions League.
On 14 December, in a 2016–17 Premier League game against Watford, Gündoğan was substituted in the 44th minute with knee ligament damage. Guardiola stated the player would be out injured for "several months." It was later confirmed Gündoğan tore his cruciate ligament in the right knee and would miss the remainder of the season.
2017–2022: Consecutive Premier League titles
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. Three months later, he scored his first goal of the season with a header, assisted by Leroy Sané, a goal that gave City the lead in their 4–1 win against Tottenham Hotspur. 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. On 4 March, he set two Premier League passing records in a 1–0 home win over Chelsea: one for most passes attempted (174), and one for most passes completed (167) in a single game. The previous holder of both records had been his former City teammate Yaya Touré, who completed 157 passes from 168 attempts against Stoke City in December 2011.
In August 2019, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract extension with City. On 21 September 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19, which obliged him to self-isolate for ten days. This was announced on the same day that City's first game of the season against Wolverhampton Wanderers was to be played. 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.