Gundogan’s ambitions at Blues despite Turkey bid
ILKAY Gundogan has revealed he turned down the chance to move to Turkey because he wants to honour his contract at City.
The 26-year-old was born to Turkish parents in Gelsenkirchen in 1990 and regularly visits the Land of the Crescent Moon despite being a fully fledged international with Germany.
Gundogan has even helped bankroll the building of Dursunbeyli FC’s new stadium – which has been named in his honour.
But, just a year after he moved to the Etihad, Gundogan plans on continuing his career at City for at least the next three seasons.
“I received an offer from Turkey but declined because I want to stay at Manchester City and have big goals to achieve first,” Gundogan told TurkishFootball.
“I will be 29 by the time my contract with City runs out. That is when I will consider my future.”
Gundogan became Pep Guardiola’s first signing at City when he joined the club for £20m from Borussia Dortmund.
The midfielder had to wait until September 14 to make his debut after suffering a serious knee injury four months previously.
But Gundogan soon impressed at the Etihad and was directly involved in six goals in his first 10 appearances.
The German even scored two goals in a man-of-the-match display against Barcelona in November as City recorded a famous 3-1 win.
But Gundogan was ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing his cruciate ligament against Watford in December.
Having bounced back, again, the 26-year-old is set to feature on the club’s pre-season tour of the U.S. next month as he looks to win back his place in the starting line-up. SERGIO Aguero’s agent has deepened the mystery over the City ace’s future by claiming he has NOT signed an extended contract.
The club has remained silent on claims that Kun put pen to paper last year on a one-year extension designed to keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2020.
City had dropped hints last summer that they would announce the new deal during their tour of China, but that announcement never happened.
Then Pep Guardiola told a press conference in January that the deal had taken place, commenting: “He has already signed a contract extension. Sergio will be here until he decides not to be here.”
Aguero himself said in February that he had ‘three years’ left on his contract.
But Hernan Reguera, vicepresident of Aguero’s management company Eleven GT, has again clouded the water by suggesting he only has TWO years left – although he reassured fans there is no prospect of Aguero leaving at the moment.
It was put to Reguera by Italian website TMW that Aguero’s contract expires in the summer of 2019, and he was asked if an extension is a possibility.
He replied: “No, we haven’t spoken about it for the moment, and we’re fine with that.
“He has two more years left on his contract and the guy is happy, as are the club. No news for now, we’ll go on like this.”
Asked if there was anything in the rumours that Aguero could go to Inter Milan this summer, with Gabriel Jesus now presenting a real challenge for his place, and with City chasing Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez, Reguera replied: “There is no doubt and fear – Sergio will remain at Manchester City, for sure.
“There have never been any offers, they have never presented him with the chance to leave City. As I said, he is happy and will remain.”
Reguera also rejected the notion that Aguero had not always seen eye to eye with manager Pep Guardiola, who dropped him for the Champions League group game against Barcelona at the Nou Camp, and again when arrived in January. Aguero initially expressed some doubt about his future, suggesting the decision would lie with the club, but he gave his real answer on the field. A stunning run of 15 goals in his last 17 games saw Aguero to a career-high 33 goals for the season, and he also showed he has adapted to Guardiola’s demand that he be more involved and more effective in approach work. Both Guardiola and Aguero have explicitly said there have been no issues between them and Reguera backed that up, saying: “They are just rumours. The relationship between Aguero and the boss is great.” Reguera also said that Aguero was revving up for a big season with the Blues, and hopes to help them land a big trophy double. Asked what Kun’s aims were, Reguera answered: “Strive for the maximum. He wants to help the team win both the Premier League and Champions League.” Hernan Reguera Jesus