Manchester City have confirmed the return of midfielder Ilkay Gundogan from Barcelona.
The 33-year old has signed a one-year deal and will wear the No 19 shirt.
Gundogan left Man City in 2023 after seven years at the club. During his first spell, Gundogan won the Premier League title five times, having made 188 appearances and scored 44 goals in the competition.
'I'm joining the best club in the world'
"When you leave this place like I did last year, you spend a year away, you then start to appreciate the place even more," Gundogan told the club's official website. "You realise what you had. You realise how amazing that time was. You realise how big the club is - the best club in the world.
"The seven years I had here in my first spell, they played a big role [in my decision to return]. But by saying that, I don’t want it to sound too nostalgic, because it’s still about competing. It’s still about having that drive. It’s still about trying to be the best version of yourself and that’s all an ambition that I still have, incredibly in myself, even though I’m now 33 years old.
“But I still want to prove myself every day in training sessions and games and still become the best possible version of myself. I still have an incredible sense for winning, for competing and I think the package that you get here, right now today, you can’t find it anywhere else, and that made it for me very, very easy to come back."
Gundogan says he is ready to hit the ground running.
“I’m feeling good right now," he added. “I played a lot of games last season. I think in terms of minutes you can’t really play much more so I think that also proves somehow that I am, even though I’m already on an age maybe where you get a lot of breaks, but I still feel very competitive, and I still feel ready to go.
“And I love the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world and being able to compete in that league again is just a joy.”
Gundogan's impact
Gundogan played a crucial role in several of City's title successes, including a brilliant free-kick at Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of 2018/19 to secure a 4-1 victory, while he came off the bench to net twice in a 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa in the final fixture of 2021/22.
He also helped Man City win the UEFA Champions League, two FA Cups and four League Cups.
In his penultimate match for the club, Gundogan scored the fastest goal in an FA Cup final, the first of his two strikes in a 2-1 triumph over Manchester United.
Gundogan’s last act as a Man City player was to captain them to European glory, as they beat Internazionale Milano 1-0 in Istanbul to claim their first Champions League trophy.
Gundogan reveals reason for squad number decision
Man City's 2024/25 transfer activity
Gundogan becomes Man City's second addition of the summer transfer window, after winger Savinho from Troyes.
Julian Alvarez, Sergio Gomez and Liam Delap have left on permanent deals, while Kalvin Phillips has departed on loan to Ipswich Town.
See: Summer 2024 transfers and news
Man City's next match
Man City are next in action at home to promoted Ipswich on Saturday, a 1500 BST kick-off.
