Ilkay Gündogan has stated he is “very happy” at Manchester City and wants to stay at the club for the final year of his contract. The veteran midfielder is a target for Galatasaray with Pep Guardiola having hinted he could be allowed to leave.
Yet the 34-year-old said: “I have one more year left on my contract and I’m very happy here – I think everybody knows that. I am enjoying my football. I still believe I have several years in me at the highest level by taking good care of myself. I’ve proven last season when I didn’t miss a game. I’m available, I’m fit, I want to play at the highest level for much longer.”
Gundogan scored twice in Sunday’s 6-0 win over Al Ain at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The victory secured Manchester City’s passage to the last-16 but Juventus have to be beaten if they are to top Group G and probably avoid Real Madrid in the first knockout round.
Gundogan said: “At the end if you’re not able to beat Juventus then they might deserve it [win the group]. A seventh goal would have given us a higher probability but it also doesn’t matter: we need a good performance against Juve and to win the game. That is not going to change the way we approach it.”
The German was unhappy at how City performed as the break neared. “There were short periods where we were not that precise in terms of our passing and the way we played.
“It’s something we need to observe and get better at because at the highest level you should not allow yourself to be not good for such a long time. It felt quite long to be honest. It felt at least five or 10 minutes too long in terms of the standards we have.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t start the second half good enough [either]. We were a bit slow and it felt a bit that it cost us that one goal at the end that we needed.”
Meanwhile, Rico Lewis’s one-match ban has been extended to three by Fifa, meaning he will be unavailable to face Juventus and for City’s last-16 tie. Lewis was shown a straight red card for connecting with Samuel Obeng’s face towards the end of the 2-0 win over Wydad in the opening group match. The contact appeared accidental yet City’s appeal against the extension was unsuccessful.
