Ilkay Gundogan sends Pep Guardiola honest message over Kevin De Bruyne decision | OneFootball

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has raved about Kevin De Bruyne’s quality and impact at the Etihad Stadium over the years in a strong admission on the Belgian’s importance to the dressing room.

De Bruyne will leave Manchester City at the end of the season after ten years with the club, having led the four-in-a-row Premier League champions to six league titles, a maiden Champions League trophy as part of a historic treble and a plethora of domestic success.

The 33-year-old has made his disappointment at the club known having not been offered a new deal, which De Bruyne has admitted stems from a collective drop-off from the squad in a hint that were City not in the mess they’ve been in this season, he would likely have been tied down to a new deal.

There has been plenty of discourse around the playmaker’s upcoming exit from the Etihad Stadium as uncertainty looms over where De Bruyne is headed and whether he will play any part in Manchester City’s FIFA Club World Cup campaign.

“He (De Bruyne) is irreplaceable. We know no one will just come and be a replacement. Of course it’ll be covered somehow. The club always does that,” said Ilkay Gundogan in an interview with ESPN’s Rob Dawson.

“What Kev (De Bruyne) has done for the club is unbelievable. For me personally, in the history of Manchester City, there’s no better player than Kevin De Bruyne. It’s been a pleasure for me to share a pitch with him for such a long time.”

Gundogan is amongst the crop of players who have spent over eight years at Manchester City, having been Pep Guardiola’s first signing following his appointment as manager in the summer of 2016.

Prior to his departure to Barcelona after captaining City to the 2023 treble, Gundogan touched on how he grew a special bond with De Bruyne off the pitch in the final few years of his first stint in Manchester – a connection that has only strengthened after the German’s return to the club last summer.

“I’ve had that connection with him (De Bruyne) off the pitch so it’s been a privilege to get to know him and his family,” added Gundogan, who unlike De Bruyne is widely expected to stay on at City next season after meeting the conditions of an automatic contract renewal entered into his current deal.