Ilkay Gundogan wants to become a manager after he retires

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has stated his desire to become a manager once he retires, citing the influence of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Thomas Tuchel on his playing career and hoping to take what he has learned from them into coaching.

Gundogan is enjoying an incredible spell of form at City, finding the net 11 times in his last 12 Premier League appearance to put the club firmly on course for a third title in four years. But having turned 30 last year, he already has one eye on the future as well.

“Some time ago, I asked around for some information on how the procedure would work if I were to take a trainer's licence one day,” the Germany international told Goal.

“In that sense, it's more than just a thought. But how I would like to orient myself then, my thoughts are not yet that far.

“The fact is that with Pep, Klopp and Tuchel, I've had pretty much the best coaches in club football so far. You learn a lot and think about how you can pass on this knowledge after your career.”

Of the three, Gundogan first worked under Klopp when he joined Borussia Dortmund from Nurnberg in 2011, winning the 2011/12 Bundesliga title and scoring in the 2013 Champions League final.

Tuchel took over from Klopp at Dortmund in 2015 and Gundogan played one season for him, with the club finishing second in the Bundesliga to recover from a 7th place finish the year before.

Gundogan made the switch to City in the summer of 2016 and was the first new signing of the Guardiola era, joining for around £20m. His first season was ravaged by an ACL injury, while he was predominantly a substitute in the 2017/18 ‘Centurions’ campaign.

Despite playing a key role in the 2018/19 title run-in, Gundogan returned to a rotation role last season, although he has made himself undroppable with incredible form since November.

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