Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes has revealed he loves former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan and hopes to emulate his game.
Gundogan left City at the end of last season after his contract expired.
The treble winners – especially manager Pep Guardiola – tried to persuade the German international to sign a new deal, but he chose to leave and sign a contract with Barcelona instead.
Gundogan joined City from Borussia Dortmund for only £21m in 2016, and over seven years he established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
The midfielder made over 300 appearances for City and won everything there is to win – including, in his final match, the long-elusive Champions League trophy – but strangely he is often underrated by non-City fans.
That’s certainly not the case with Bruno Guimaraes though, who recently expressed his admiration for his fellow midfielder.
Gundogan’s biggest fan
Speaking on the Charla Podcast, Bruno – who joined Newcastle from Lyon in a £40m deal in January 2022 – admitted Gundogan has long been an inspiration of his.
“I’m a fan of Gundogan, I always have been,” said the 25-year-old Brazilian.
“I had a Borussia Dortmund shirt with ‘Brudogan’ [on the back]. I watched every video of him on YouTube and said: ‘I want to be like him, he’s so good’.”
“My dream is to be ‘Brudogan’. I love him.”
Bruno could have ended up playing alongside his idol, as City were interested in the Brazil international back in 2022.
However, he ended up joining newly-monied Newcastle instead so the meeting never came to pass.
Pep Guardiola’s side have been linked with the midfielder this summer, following Gundogan’s departure and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Bernardo Silva.
A move seems unlikely though with Newcastle gearing up for a return to the Champions League and City prioritising the signing of Josko Gvardiol.
