Ilkay Gundogan has not signed a new contract with Manchester City yet, with the club prioritizing their pursuit of a treble
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan pledged that his team will continue fighting until the end to match Manchester United’s historic treble achievement in the 1998-99 season.
The midfielder, who has been with the club for seven years, aims to add a fifth Premier League title, a second FA Cup, and a maiden Champions League trophy to his collection.
Gary Neville has said that Manchester City is getting too close to Manchester United’s famous feat from 24 years ago. City is set to play in the Champions League and the FA Cup, with a 3-0 lead going into the second leg of their European quarter-final match against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and a domestic semi-final against Sheffield United at Wembley on Saturday.
Manchester City is chasing Arsenal in the Premier League and will face them in a match next week. The club has never won the Champions League before, and it has become an obsession for them. This is incredible, considering they were relegated to the third tier of English football 25 years ago.
Huge investment since has made the dream possible, and Gundogan said: “Of course we want to win this trophy. It’s our big dream to win the Champions League.”
In an interview with German outlet T-Online, he added: “But we want to win all the trophies this year. It’s going to be a really exciting end to this season, and we’re going to fight for it to the end.”
Gundogan opens up about his Euro 2024 dream
The midfielder, whose contract expires after this campaign, described it as the players’ “responsibility to do everything we can to end the season strong so that we can all celebrate success in the end”.
Last season, Gundogan was the hero as City won the Premier League title by coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-2 with two late goals from him.
Although his performance this season has been less impressive, with only five goals and four assists compared to 17 goals and four assists in 2021 and 10 goals and seven assists in 2022, he is still a crucial player for the team and City wants to keep him.
It is uncertain if Gundogan will still be a part of Manchester City when the Euro 2024 finals take place next year, which will be hosted by Germany. However, Gundogan desires to be part of the German national team during the tournament, stating that it would be an honor.
Germany will need to significantly improve their performance if they want to be a competitive team in front of their home crowds at the Euro 2024 finals, especially since they were eliminated in the group stage in the last two World Cups and lost to England in the last 16 of the postponed Euro 2020.
“We all know that we have to improve and deliver better performances and results – even before the tournament,” Gundogan said.
