Ilkay Gundogan pens emotional message as he announces his retirement from international football
Ilkay Gundogan penned a heartfelt note on his farewell from the German international team, citing tiredness before Euro 2024.
Ilkay Gundogan, image courtesy: X
German footballing stalwart Ilkay Gundogan has called it a day in international football with a heartfelt message on his Instagram. The 33-year-old midfielder represented Germany in 82 international clashes, hammering 19 goals in a career spanning 13 long years.
Taking to his social media handles, he penned an emotional message where he revealed that he felt a certain tiredness in his body even before Euro 2024 started. Despite stepping down, Ilkay Gundogan pointed out that leading Germany at the Euros was one of the biggest highlights of his international career.
Even before the tournament, I felt a certain tiredness in my body and also in my head, which got me thinking. And the games at club and national level are not getting any less. I will definitely continue to be a fan of this national team and I really hope that we can continue the upward trend together.Ilkay Gundogan wrote on his Instagram.
Under the captaincy of Gundogan, Germany did show grit and promise in Euro 2024. Qualifying with an unbeaten record from the group stages, where they secured two wins and a draw from the three games, Germany arrived in the round of 16, where they defeated spirited Denmark without breaking much of a sweat. However, much to their disappointment, they crashed out of the tournament following a 2-1 defeat against Spain in the quarterfinals.
Barcelona is willing to let Ilkay Gundogan leave for a free transfer
As per the latest report published by the Spanish outlet Marca, Barcelona wanted to part ways with Ilkay Gundogan. In fact, such is the urgency for the Catalans to let the German midfielder go that they are willing to leave him for free despite his £343 million release clause. One of the key reasons for this urgency is to accommodate the long-time signing of Dani Olmo.
Barcelona’s financial issues are widely known, and as the situation stands, in order for Dani Olmo to be registered for the rest of the season and any other signings that are made by the Catalans, they will need to cut some costs.
As a result of this, the Catalans are willing to let Gundogan leave, not thinking much about the release fee. As per reports, Manchester City wants to make a full-blown move to bring Gundogan back to the Etihad, where he has already spent seven staggering seasons.
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Rohit Ganguly
(512 Articles Published)