Gündoğan criticises Galatasaray bench time – just eleven minutes this season

İlkay Gündoğan, a 35‑year‑old midfielder of Galatasaray, expresses his anger about his current time on the bench. This season he has only received eleven minutes of playtime and asks about the point of being ready when he does not play, and strongly emphasizes his frustration.

Transfer history and market value

Gündoğan moved in the summer of 2025 without a transfer fee from the Spanish club FC Barcelona to Galatasaray. According to Transfermarkt his current market value is €1.50 million. The report was published in the sections News, Transfers & Rumors, Market‑value analysis as well as Community and Gaming areas.

In the previous season the former DFB captain made 38 appearances and recorded seven goal involvements. This performance made him an important contributor at Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and FC Barcelona.

Since his transfer Gündoğan has received only a brief appearance in the Süper Lig – on the first matchday against promoted side Corum he played six minutes in a 2:2 draw. In the Champions League he was used for a few minutes against Sporting CP, which remains his only appearance in that competition.

Coach Okan Buruk prefers to rely on Mario Lemina, Gabriel Sara, Lesley Ugochukwu and Lucas Torreira in the midfield. Both Ugochukwu and Torreira had to serve suspensions after being sent off against Trabzonspor and Kasimpasa respectively, which could theoretically increase Gündoğan's chances of more playing time.

Champions League outlook

After the 3‑1 victory over Kasimpasa on Friday evening Galatasaray faces the Champions League duel with former club FC Barcelona on Tuesday. When asked whether he is ready for the match, Gündoğan replied defiantly: “I’m not playing – why should I be ready?”

The win temporarily returned the “Lions” to the top of the Süper Lig table, which after seven matchdays leads with 16 points. While Gündoğan saw the bench occupied, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, Barış Alper Yılmaz and Mario Lemina found the net for the team.

The report also appeared in the categories News, Transfers, Community, Gaming, Support, Premium Service and Video and is part of the Latest‑Transfers section, which aggregates all forum and club‑forum posts from the Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga as well as the league statistics.