Arriving this summer in Catalonia, at FC Barcelona, Ilkay Gündogan is experiencing a much more eventful first part of the season than he was used to at Manchester City. In England, the German and his team dominated the debates, but in La Liga, Barça is still struggling to maintain its domination over the rest of the championship, in the shadow of a fascinating Girona and Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid. The shadow, moreover, he knows Gündogan well, he who is often described by his peers as being “underestimated”. Not very talkative and far from social networks, the 33-year-old midfielder confided in France Football. He notably returned to an injury which could have cost him his career.
“At 22, I suffered a major back injury which kept me away from the field for fourteen months (an inflammation of the nerve roots). I really thought my career was in danger. I was playing in great pain, I felt like I was 90 years old. I had trouble putting on pants, putting on my shoes, my socks, it hurt when I lay down on my bed. It not only affected my football practice, but also my life. I was given injections, but nothing improved. I saw lots of doctors, the diagnoses were never the same. I no longer knew who to trust. At one point, I couldn’t take it anymore and I really feared for my career.says Ilkay Gündogan. “I wanted to try everything, avoiding having to go through the operation. I finally found a very good surgeon in Munich who ended up operating on me. In the end, it was the best solution.” In the end, more fear than harm for the former captain of the Skyblues, at the head of Manchester City, winner of the Champions League in 2023.
