NEW Manchester City signing Ilkay Gundogan admits he came close to joining Manchester United last summer.
Pep Guardiola made the Borussia Dortmund midfielder his first signing of the summer after leaving Bayern Munich, and Gundogan looks set to line up in a formidable midfield featuring the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva next season.
However, things could have turned out very differently had Gundogan decided to quit Dortmund a year ago.
The Germany international’s contract was running down and a move to Old Trafford seemed to be in the bag.
But Gundogan surprised many by announcing he would instead sign a one-year extension with Dortmund, meaning Thomas Tuchel could cash in this year instead of losing him on a free transfer.
Gundogan will now be lining up in the blue of City instead of United’s red, and looks certain to face old teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the Manchester derby on September 10.
Related Stories
But Gundogan has no regrets over his decision last summer, admitting that he did not want to leave Dortmund empty-handed after Robert Lewandowski completed a free transfer to Bayern in 2014.
Gundogan told Sport360: “Maybe last year it was close, but not everything happened like I wanted it to.
“Maybe it was not the right moment and at the end we decided to stay and renew my contract, to extend for one more year.
“We always had the conversation with Dortmund and agreed that if I left, I will not leave for free, for zero.
“So I renewed my contract and now this year everyone is lucky and happy how it came to an end.
“I recognised over the last few months that I needed a change, to start from zero, to prove myself again, which is why I’m really happy to be here, to have the chance to work with Guardiola and this wonderful club.”
Leave a comment