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Today, Borussia Dortmund confirmed that midfielder Ilkay Gündogan will be heading to Manchester City to team up with former Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola.
Several outlets report that BVB will get €25 million with additional payments of €3 million that are tied to different accomplishments during his time in the Premier League. Dortmund's Sporting Director Michael Zorc released the following statement "We want to thank IIlkay Gündogan for an eventful five years in Dortmund. The club wishes him a speedy recovery and all the best for his future in Manchester."
This marks the end of a 2-year-long transfer saga that saw Gündogan being linked to every top European club imaginable. It was always clear that Gündogan wanted to leave for greener pastures, but several ill-timed injuries prevented an earlier exit from the club.
Borussia Dortmund found themselves in an awkward situation having a player on their squad that refused to commit long-term to the club, but there never seemed to be an opportune moment to maximize the transfer fee. This summer CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke put an end to this when he confronted Gündogan with an ultimatum, either commit long-term or leave.
An already long injury history was expanded by a new chapter just a few weeks ago when Gündogan dislocated his kneecap. The injury prevented him from playing in the DFB Pokal final and will force him to miss this summer's Euros. This will be the second major tournament he will miss after the 2014 World Cup. Regardless of the injury Manchester City never lost interest in the play-maker and they are willing to spend heavily on a player that won't be ready for action until at least October.
Gündogan has often been vilified by some BVB fans, but he wanted the club to be compensated in case he left. That's honorable, and he didn't leave for Bayern so that's something...
Gündogan wechselt zu Manchester City. bvb.de // Gündogan wechselt zu Manchester City. https://t.co/JG0vYZT1Dq #bvb pic.twitter.com/evQiqSwRqz
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) 2 juin 2016
Update: Gündogan released the following statement on Twitter.
— Ilkay Gündogan (@Guendogan8) 2. Juni 2016
Update 2: Former clubs get paid too!
REPORT: Nuremberg, who sold Ilkay Gündogan to #BVB in 2011, set to make €4.5m on his move to #MCFC. [SID] pic.twitter.com/fKZCCZnJQC
— DW Sports (@dw_sports) 2. Juni 2016
4,5 Millionen für den 1. FC Nürnberg, 450.000 für den VfL Bochum. Nicht übel. #Gündogan
— Thomas Nowag (@Dagobert95) June 2, 2016
Translation: 4.5 million for Nuremberg and 450000 for VfL Bochum. Not Bad.