Ilkay Gundogan reveals superstitious reason behind Manchester City squad number selection

Ilkay Gundogan has revealed the reason behind selecting to wear the number 19 during his second spell with Manchester City.

The 33-year-old completed a return to the Etihad Stadium on an initial one-year deal, signing from FC Barcelona on a free transfer, having initially left Manchester City after captaining Pep Guardiola’s side to an historic treble during the 2022/23 season.

The midfielder, who enjoyed an illustrious seven-year stay in east Manchester between 2016 and 2023, has selected to wear the number 19 shirt for his second spell with the Premier League champions.

The squad number became vacant this summer following Julian Alvarez’s club-record move to Atletico Madrid in a €95 million deal, with Mateo Kovacic holding Gundogan’s former Manchester City squad number 8.

Explaining his reason selecting number 19, Gundogan said: “There was a little bit of thinking behind it. Obviously number 21 and 22 were free as well and I was last year 22 in in Barcelona and I was 21 in the German national team, but I didn’t win any trophies with these numbers.

“So, I thought ok and number 19 is between 18 and 20 between my two friends Bernardo Silva and Stefan Ortega. So that might be a sign, you know, and I just went for it. So let’s see.

“It’s hopefully not the number that will have a big influence it will be the way I am playing the like the way I’m behaving and the way we will be as a team, and I can assure you that we will try our best to win a lot.”

Gundogan could make his Manchester City return at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon, when Guardiola’s side host newly-promoted Ipswich Town in their first home Premier League match of the campaign.

The former Germany international has made 304 previous appearances for the Sky Blues, winning 14 trophies, including five Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the UEFA Champions League.