Gundogan: City need Champions League win to join elite
Ilkay Gundogan thinks Manchester City need to win the Champions League if they are to become one of the world’s elite clubs.
European glory has eluded City since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008 and they were most recently knocked out in the quarter-finals by Liverpool last season.
They will continue their quest for this season’s Champions League trophy on Wednesday when they go to Schalke for the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Gundogan said: “If you want to be in the international elite, when you want to be there both as a club and as a player, you need to clinch this trophy.
“You can’t go past it, at least in my opinion. I think that, if we were to win it someday, the club would enter a new era.
“(It would be lifted) to the same level as Real, Barca, Bayern or Juventus, clubs that are maybe a step above us. Maybe not in the way they play football, but as a club at least.
“Our job is to try and give it our all to make it a reality someday. We’ll try and will hopefully manage that somehow.
“We’ve experienced a lot in the Champions League in recent years not all of it positive, of course.
“We should’ve won it at least once. So, as you can imagine, there’s a very big drive within us to do something in the Champions League.
“The biggest low was probably being knocked out by Liverpool last season. For that reason, the motivation to go far in this competition is huge and I think we have the quality required.”
City topped Group F earlier this season and last played Schalke in the UEFA Cup in 2008, winning 2-0 in Germany.