Manchester City star distributed election posters titled ‘Man of the People’ to try and become club captain last season, confirms Ilkay Gundogan
Ilkay Gundogan has made a hilarious revelation about John Stones' attempt to become Manchester City's new captain last season.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, the Cityzens planned to hold a team vote to decide the club's new skipper. Kevin de Bruyne and Gundogan were the likely candidates due to their experience with the team.
But Stones started a light-hearted campaign to throw his hat into the ring for the captaincy role. According to Gundogan (h/t @cityreport_), the English centre-back distributed posters titled 'John Stones - Man of the People' to win favor in the dressing room.
Ultimately, Gundogan was selected as the new captain over De Bruyne. Recalling the incident involving Stones, he told BILD (h/t Daily Star):
"John promoted himself, yes, but more for fun. When I was elected captain, I was relatively sure that I would be in the top three [of the vote]. It was about whether it would be Kev [Kevin De Bruyne] or me. I think it was relatively close."
The German superstar had a campaign to remember, registering 11 goals and seven assists in 51 games across competitions as Manchester City won the treble. He left the club after a seven-year stay at the Etihad and joined Barcelona on a free transfer this summer.
Ilkay Gundogan opens up on working with Xavi after leaving Manchester City
Ilkay Gundogan is currently playing under Xavi Hernandez at Barcelona. Needless to say, the Spaniard is regarded as one of the very best midfielders to grace the sport.
Gundogan believes he shares similarities with Xavi in his playing style and that could be a reason why the latter values the German midfielder. In the interview with BILD, the former Manchester City superstar was asked to give his opinion on working with the Barca coach.
The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder replied:
"We spoke on the phone several times in the run-up to the transfer. I immediately had a good feeling. I think we are very similar in personality. Even as a player he had some facets in his game that also appear in mine. That could be a reason why he values me. Xavi was an extremely intelligent player who recognized the value of simple but thoughtful play."
The 32-year-old's importance at Barcelona is clear from the get-go. He has started in all of their four La Liga games so far and has provided two assists during that time.
Currently, Gundogan has Gavi, Pedri, Oriol Romeu and Frenkie de Jong to compete with in midfield for regular starts.