Ilkay Gundogan breaks his own transfer to Manchester City after tweeting the club to 'Announce Gundogan'
Gundogan tweeted the club demanding them to announce his own transfer minutes before the deal was confirmed
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Your support makes all the difference.Ilkay Gundogan could quickly become a fan favourite with Manchester City after completing his £20m move from Borussia Dortmund, with the Germany international appearing to break the news of his move before the club made an official announcement.
As reported by the Independent on Wednesday night, Gundogan was on the verge of sealing a move to City after holding official talks with the Premier League club, with the deal going through as expected on Thursday morning.
However, minutes before City’s confirmation came, Gundogan’s Twitter account dropped a massive hint that he was on his way to the Etihad. Appearing to mimic those fans who demand clubs announce new signings, Gundogan tweeted City’s official account to say “Announce Gundogan!” along with a winking emoji.
Minutes later, City unveiled Gundogan as their latest addition, with the 25-year-old becoming the first player to join the club since Guardiola arrived to replace Manuel Pellegrini.
In a video released by the club on Twitter, Gundogan said: “Hello City fans, you’ve been tweeting me for a long time, and now I officially announce that I am a Manchester City player. Hope to see you soon.”
Gundogan has penned a four-year contract with the Capital One Cup champions and speaking to mcfc.co.uk, he thanked Dortmund for his time with the Bundesliga club, though admitted the chance to work with Guardiola was something that he couldn’t turn down.
“I’m thrilled to have signed for Manchester City,” said Gundogan. “When I learned of City’s interest my heart was set on coming here and things have moved very quickly.
“I have loved my time with Borussia Dortmund and I would like to thank the club and the supporters for the five very happy years I spent there.
“They gave me a platform to play on and I became a better player because of the belief, patience and trust they showed in me.
“Now I have a new challenge and that is to achieve great things with City. The opportunity to work with a coach like Pep Guardiola is something I am really looking forward to and I am flattered to be the first signing the Club has made this summer.
“I can promise the City fans I will give everything to help us win titles both in England and the Champions League. These are exciting times.
“I have my best years ahead of me and I think we can achieve great things together. I can’t wait to begin this new chapter in my career.”
Gundogan arrives at City after a five-year spell with Dortmund, in which he made 157 appearances for the club and helped them to their Bundesliga and German Cup double in 2011/12 as well as the Champions League final the following season.
However, despite being part of the Germany side that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012, Gundogan has only amassed 16 caps for his country, having suffered heavily from injury over the past three seasons in which he missed the victorious 2014 World Cup campaign.
Gundogan was signed for Dortmund by their former manager Jurgen Klopp after he spotted the midfielder at Nurnberg, having made his senior debut at Bochum. Having enjoyed success together, Gundogan and Klopp will go head-to-head next season when City face Liverpool in the Premier League.
Gundogan will not, however, be heading to France with the rest of the Germany squad after he was omitted from Joachim Low’s 23-man party due to a dislocated knee cap he suffered towards the end of the season, having played just four matches across March and April due to other injury troubles.
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