Gündoğan[2] was born on 24 October 1990[3] inGelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia, toTurkish parents.[4] His grandfather on his father's side was aguest worker who moved fromBalıkesir, Turkey, to the Ruhr region of Germany to work as aminer.[5] Meanwhile, his wife stayed in Turkey with their children where they grew up and went to school.[6]
Having grown up in Gelsenkirchen, Gündoğan's boyhood affiliation was withSchalke 04, with which he had a brief spell as an eight-year old before being forced to take a break from the sport altogether because of growth problems. He subsequently confessed that this was one of the worst disappointments in his life, one which led him to reject Schalke when the club offered to sign him up again when he was 13-years old, fearing he would be somehow disappointed again.[7]
On 5 May 2011, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract with another Bundesliga club,Borussia Dortmund.[7] He made his debut on 23 July in the2011 DFL-Supercup against Schalke. After a 0–0 draw atArena AufSchalke, he scored Dortmund's first attempt in thepenalty shoot-out, which they went on to lose 4–3.[10] On 17 December, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in a 4–1 victory away toSC Freiburg.[11] He played once for theclub's reserves on 22 February 2012, being replaced at half time byRico Benatelli in an eventual 2–1 win over1. FC Kaiserslautern II at theStadion Rote Erde.[12] On 20 March, Gündoğan scored a 120th-minute goal which saw Dortmund defeatGreuther Fürth and progress to the2012 DFB-Pokal final.[13] He played the entire final on 12 May, a 5–2 victory over Bayern Munich that gave Dortmund their first domesticdouble.[14]
In the2012–13 season, Gündoğan was one of the central figures of Borussia Dortmund as they reached the2013 UEFA Champions League final. He was praised for his play in the two semi-final matches againstReal Madrid.[15][16] On 25 May 2013, he scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 69th minute to keep Dortmund's hopes alive against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final played atWembley Stadium in London. This was his first regular-time penalty kick in a game for Dortmund. Bayern Munich went on to win 2–1.[17]
2013–2016: Contract extensions and DFB-Pokal final
Gündoğan scored in the2013 DFL-Supercup on 27 July as Dortmund won 4–2 against rivals Bayern Munich.[18] In August, a back injury picked up while on international duty ruled him out for a full year.[19] Gündoğan signed a new contract with Dortmund in April 2014, to keep him at the club until 2016.[20]
Gündoğan scored in the penalty-shootout victory over Bayern Munich on 28 April 2015, which sent Dortmund to the2015 DFB-Pokal final.[21] Two days later, it was announced he and Dortmund would not be renewing their contract after its expiration on 30 June 2015.[22] However, on 1 July 2015, Gündoğan signed a contract extension to keep him at Dortmund until June 2017.[23]
On 2 June 2016, Gündoğan signed forPremier League clubManchester City on a four-year contract, for an estimatedtransfer fee of £20 million. He was the club's first signing under former Bayern Munich managerPep Guardiola.[24] Gündoğan made his debut on 14 September, playing for the first time in four months in a2016–17 Champions League group stage game at home toBorussia Mönchengladbach. City won 4–0; Gündoğan won a penalty that was converted bySergio Agüero.[25] Three days later, Gündoğan started in the squad and scored with a low, right-footed shot againstAFC Bournemouth in a 4–0 home win.[26] He scored abrace and set up Agüero's goal againstWest Bromwich Albion in a 4–0 win atThe Hawthorns on 29 October 2016.[27] He continued his run of form by scoring twice againstBarcelona in a 3–1 win at home in the group stages of the Champions League.[28]
On 14 December, in a2016–17 Premier League game againstWatford, Gündoğan was substituted in the 44th minute with knee ligament damage. Guardiola stated the player would be out injured for "several months."[29] It was later confirmed Gündoğan tore his cruciate ligament in the right knee and would miss the remainder ofthe season.[30]
On 16 September 2017, Gündoğan made his first appearance for Manchester City in nine months, coming on as a substitute in the team's 6–02017–18 Premier League win away at Watford.[31] Three months later, he scored his first goal of the season with aheader, assisted byLeroy Sané, a goal that gave City the lead in their 4–1 win againstTottenham Hotspur.[32] On 13 February 2018, he scored a brace, with one goal in each half, as City won 4–0 againstFC Basel in the away leg of their round-of-sixteen tie in the2017–18 Champions League.[33] On 4 March, he set two Premier League passing records in a 1–0 home win overChelsea: one for most passes attempted (174), and one for most passes completed (167) in a single game. The previous holder of both records had been his former City teammateYaya Touré, who completed 157 passes from 168 attempts againstStoke City in December 2011.[34]
In August 2019, Gündoğan signed a four-year contract extension with City.[35] On 21 September 2020, he tested positive forCOVID-19, which obliged him toself-isolate for ten days. This was announced on the same day that City's first game of the season againstWolverhampton Wanderers was to be played.[36] After recovering, he came back to the squad and scored his first Premier league goal of the season on 15 December in a 1–1 home draw against West Bromwich Albion.[37]
On 7 February 2021, Gündoğan scored twice in a 4–1 away league-win overLiverpool, sealing City's first win atAnfield since 2003.[38] On 12 February, he received thePremier League Player of the Month award for his performances throughout January.[39] On 12 March, he received the award for a second consecutive month, with four goals and one assist in five games. In doing so, he became the first player for City to win back-to-back awards for the club.[40] He was City's highest goalscorer of the league season with 13 goals.[41] On 29 May, he played in the2021 Champions League final, which ended in a 1–0 defeat against Chelsea.[42] On 22 May 2022, he scored two goals in a 3–2 home victory againstAston Villa on the final day of the2021–22 Premier League, a result that secured a sixth Premier League title for the club.[43]
2022–2023: Treble-winning captain and initial farewell
Gündoğan was chosen by his teammates asclub captain on 14 August 2022, replacing the departingFernandinho.[44] On 6 May 2023, he scored both goals in a 2–1 win overLeeds United, which secured his club's 10th league win in a row during the2022–23 Premier League.[45] On 14 May, Gündoğan scored twice againstEverton, one of his goals being a clever flick and the other being a well-taken free kick. Guardiola commented that the player had shown "again and again his quality and his importance".[46] Such performances contributed greatly to City eventually winning in the league title.[3][47]
On 3 June 2023, Gündoğan scored the quickest goal in FA Cup final history, with a long-range volley within 12 seconds of the2023 final againstManchester United.[48] The match ended as a 2–1 victory for City, with Gündoğan scoring his brace with another volley in the 51st minute. Gündoğan scored a third goal in the 72nd minute, though it was disallowed for offside.[49] Owing to his performance in the match, he was praised as "magnificent" by journalistPhil McNulty,[50] and was voted asman of the match by readers ofBBC Sport.[51] On 10 June, he won his first Champions League title after a 1–0 victory overInter Milan in thefinal, becoming the first captain of the club to lift the European Cup.[52] On 26 June, City announced the departure of Gündoğan after seven years.[53]
On 26 June 2023, Gündoğan signed forLa Liga club Barcelona on a two-year contract on a free transfer.[54] He scored his first goal forBarcelona on 28 October in the sixth minute against Real Madrid, becoming the second oldest player to score for the club in anEl Clásico fixture, aged 33 years and 4 days, only behindSergio Agüero.[55] The goal gave the team the lead, but they eventually succumbed to aJude Bellingham brace, resulting in a 2–1 home defeat.[56]
On 23 August 2024, after spending a single season away from the club, Gündoğan rejoined Manchester City, signing a one-year deal.[57][58] Later that year, on 23 October, he featured in his100th Champions League match in a 5–0 victory overSparta Prague.[59]On 25 May 2025, Gündoğan scored his first Premier League goal since returning to the club in a 2–0 victory againstFulham on the final day of the season.[60] On 22 June, he scored a brace in City's 6–0 win againstAl Ain in theFIFA Club World Cup group stage.[61]
On 2 September 2025, Gündoğan joinedSüper Lig clubGalatasaray on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal. Shortly after joining Galatasaray, supporters gave him the nickname "Futbolu Bulan Adam" (The man who invented football) after Champions league victory against Liverpool.[62][63][64]
After years of playing for different youth teams, Gündoğan received his first call-up to theGermany senior team in August 2011 for afriendly match againstBrazil, but did not feature in the game.[65] On 11 October, he made his debut for Germany after coming on as a substitute for captainPhilipp Lahm for the last six minutes of a 3–1 victory againstBelgium in aUEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match at theEsprit Arena in Düsseldorf.[66]
In May 2012, he was selected in the German squad forEuro 2012.[67] Germany reached the semi-finals, although Gündoğan did not play.[68] On 26 March 2013, Gündoğan scored his first goal for Germany in a 4–12014 FIFA World Cup qualifier againstKazakhstan at theGrundig Stadion in Nuremberg.[69] He scored his second goal in his next match, a friendly on 14 August at theFritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, as Germany came from 2–0 down to draw 3–3 againstParaguay.[70] However, he was taken off with a back injury that ruled him out for the next year and forced him to miss the2014 World Cup, which Germany would go on to win.[19]
Gündoğan returned to international football on 25 March 2015 in a 2–2 draw withAustralia in a friendly.[71] He participated in theEuro 2016 qualifying campaign, scoring in a 7–0 away victory againstGibraltar on 14 June 2015,[72] and a 3–2 win againstScotland atHampden Park on 7 September.[73] On 6 May 2016, it was announced Gündoğan would be unable to participate atEuro 2016 due to injury.[74] He made the team's squad, announced in June 2018, for the2018 World Cup in Russia.[75] On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad forUEFA Euro 2020.[76]
On 10 November 2022, Gündoğan was selected in the 26-man squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.[77] In Germany's opening match of the tournament againstJapan, Gündoğan scored a penalty to give Germany a 1–0 lead, but Japan went on to win 2–1.[78] Due to the absence ofManuel Neuer, he was named captain of the national team by coachHansi Flick in September 2023.[79] After the return of Neuer from injury, new coachJulian Nagelsmann confirmed that Gündogǎn would retain the captaincy, withJoshua Kimmich andThomas Müller serving as the team's vice-captains.[80]
Gündoğan was named in Germany's squad forUEFA Euro 2024.[81][82][68] On 14 June, he captained Germany to a 5–1 victory againstScotland in the opening match of Euro 2024 in Munich.[83] This made him the first German footballer ofTurkish descent to serve as captain of the national team at a major tournament finals.[84] On 19 June, Gündoğan was awarded Player of the Match in a 2–0 victory againstHungary, in which he scored a goal and provided an assist, securing his country's qualification to theknockout phase.[85] On 19 August 2024, Gündoğan announced his retirement from international football.[86]
Known for his vision, athleticism and leadership, Gündoğan's Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, described him as "one of the best players [he had] worked with".[87]Jürgen Klopp, Gündoğan's former coach at Borussia Dortmund, has described Gündoğan as an "intelligent and complete midfielder with numerous strengths".[88] Although Gündoğan had a tough start at Dortmund, where he admitted "things hadn't gone as well as I had thought", his "willingness to learn" and "great attitude", according to Klopp, allowed him to play a pivotal role in his later career at the club in thedeep-lying playmaker role.[88] He was able to fit into Dortmund's "explosive" style "by combining creativity and outstanding passing with the defensive attributes and tireless energy needed".[88]
In his earlier years, Gündoğan was often deployed as awide midfielder, but later established himself in a more central role at Dortmund. Regarding this positional switch, he commented: "I came to the conclusion that playing wide wasn't my strength. I feel fine playing as adefensive orcentral midfielder, but I also believe that I can hold my own as aplaymaker."[89] In a 2016UEFA profile, Philip Röber also observed that Gündoğan "excels in possession-based teams and can dictate a side's tempo."[89] At Manchester City, Gündoğan was deployed in a variety of midfield positions, including in a holding role.[90][91] Although he was not statistically as productive as his other midfield teammates, specifically in terms of the number of goals and assists, he drew praise in the media for his ability to circulate possession and create space for other players.[91] Throughout his career, Gündoğan often struggled with injuries.[35][89]
Gündoğan married Sara Arfaoui in 2022[92] In 2023, the couple gave birth to a son named Kais.[93] Gündoğan's cousinNaz Aydemir is a volleyball player.[94]
Gündoğan is a Muslim.[95][96] In May 2018, he met Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan in London, along withMesut Özil andCenk Tosun, two other England-based, German-born players of Turkish descent. Gündoğan was criticised for referring to Erdoğan as "my president", despite not being a citizen of Turkey. The incident caused political controversy in Germany, and Gündoğan was jeered by German fans when playing for the national team weeks later.[97]
Years after leaving Nuremberg, Gündoğan has not lost contact to 1. FC Nürnberg nor the local school where he passed hisAbitur in 2011.[98] He recalls those years as some of the best of his professional life, telling "I had my arguably happiest time as a footballer at the beginning of my career at age 18/19 with 1. FC Nürnberg."[99]
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