Ilkay Gundogan leaves Manchester City with a brilliant number of memorable moments.
From the Aston Villa comeback to that goal against Everton or the record-breaker against United in the cup final, the German international has left a lasting mark on the Premier League champions. Perhaps as importantly, he has also left his mark on the city that has been his home for the last seven years.
These actions were not as publicised because Gundogan doesn't like to talk up his work helping others, but after settling down in the city centre following his move from Dortmund the midfielder set about helping others who were less fortunate. Whether it was volunteering at a soup kitchen, paying the Sky Sports bill for a group of football fans or moving care workers to tears ahead of the Champions League final, Gundogan's legacy in Manchester will stretch well beyond football.
With Turkish parents and growing up in the melting pot of Gelsenkirchen in Germany where a number of cultures and nationalities met, the footballer has always believed in giving back and helping the communities. He has kept close ties with the hometown of his family, Dursunbey in Turkey - it was there where he married his partner Sara Arfaoui in 2022 - and also remembers his roots in Germany; one year, he donated his Premier League bonus to his childhood club Hessler 06 in Gelsenkirchen and laid on food for them to watch the Champions League final together this month.
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Gundogan likes to give back to the places that have helped him and that is why when he decided to make Manchester his home in 2016 he started to help out in the local communities. The 32-year-old has a tradition of giving gifts on his birthday and as he turned 29 he headed down to Wood Street Mission in the city centre, a charity that helps improve child wellbeing and increase awareness of child poverty, to sort donations with the team and bring some presents of his own.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Gundogan found it tough to bounce back after getting coronavirus early on and then struggled as he lived alone in town and was unable to meet friends or family. It was when the first lockdown was lifted later that year that he reached out to Community Integrated Care to see what he could do to help those in care in the local area who were still seeing their daily lives restricted.
After visiting centres in Blackley and Tameside on his 30th birthday to speak to fans on the phone through windows, Gundogan would then host a Zoom call around Christmas during another lockdown where people could ask him about anything from playing under Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp to whether or not he had a dog. Having been blown away by the generosity of the City footballer, the director of partnerships and communities at Community Integrated Care John Hughes was even more grateful when Gundogan wanted to continue the relationship.
"He put an awful lot of effort into it. I imagine behind the scenes there was a lot to think about because footballers had to be really careful [in the pandemic]," said Hughes. "The pandemic was really difficult for social care. The people we support have really difficult lives and it was really difficult for our colleagues.
"For our colleagues, it was the most stressful and intense period and that recognition from him was amazing. He went to Tameside and met people with learning disabilities and they were so excited and produced pictures for him and gifts for him.
"That thing of chatting to your football hero over a fence was amazing. He said to us he really loved what he had seen from the charity and when things got better he was keen to keep in contact and to let him know if there was anything else he could do.
"We were blown away that a high-profile footballer had given his time to us and I didn't necessarily expect anything to come next. For him to say he was interested in becoming an ambassador for the charity and for him to say to us what should we do on my next birthday was really impressive."
Gundogan has kept up his commitment as the pandemic restrictions have slowly fallen away. There have been big gestures in inviting fans to a City match and providing food for the Champions League final, but also small things such as paying for a Sky Sports subscription for a care centre in lockdown to keep people connected to football, or sending video messages to people going through a hard time.
As much as the food and drink - Turkish to reflect the final being in Istanbul and the player's family - were a hit this month, it was a letter sent to everyone in Community Integrated Care thanking them for inspiring the City captain that was really touching. Gundogan has never sought out attention for helping people, but those he has helped are determined to highlight his work and looking forward to the future as he commits to continuing as an ambassador for the charity even as he leaves for Barcelona.
"When people read the letter, I was really struck by it but some of our colleagues were actually moved to tears," said Hughes.
"When you work in care, you're not often recognised for what you do. It's invisible and behind the scenes but we have some amazing people but often not a lot of money or recognition so to have the captain of Man City ahead of one of the biggest games in the club's history send the letter, people were blown away by it.
"The honest thing in this is in the two or three years of this relationship is the hundreds of people he has helped. Some of those moments will be the most exciting moments of people's lives. There is so much hidden kindness.
"There has never been any sense that he has wanted press coverage or attention for it, it is just because he wants to. What comes across every time we speak to him is he always talks about Manchester being a home from home for him and how the city has welcomed him and supported him.
"I think he sees it in light of paying back the city for what it has done for him and his career. I genuinely think he's enjoyed it as well. He's really loved meeting people we support and the way we support people. He's really loved connecting with people.
"People will miss him but I still think there's another chapter in that relationship. We couldn't have asked for anyone to have done more for us.
"He's got huge fans in the charity now who are rooting for him. I've got a goal next year of taking people we support to go and watch him in Barcelona, as people support Ilkay now as much as they support Man City."
