'I played under Klopp and Guardiola - I can be honest about who was better'

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Ex- Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan reluctantly picked Pep Guardiola over Jurgen Klopp after being asked the best manager he worked under. The German midfielder enjoyed great success under his compatriot during a spell with Borussia Dortmund .

He won the Bundesliga and the German Cup under Klopp before deciding to join City under Guardiola. Gundogan’s career reached new heights at the Etihad as he won five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League under Guardiola.

And Gundogan has now picked which of the two rival bosses he thought was best. "I need to be honest and answer Pep because of what we achieved together, the dominance," Gundogan said in an interview with The Athletic .

"We had enormous success at Dortmund and I loved the type of football. I appreciate Jurgen so much as a manager and human being. Every time we saw each other, even with Liverpool , we hugged strongly like a father and son.

“Both had a big influence on the way I turned out, but with Pep I feel the tactical point of view, the possession game, is a bit clearer to me than transitional football.”

“I describe myself as a simple player because that is how I like to keep the game,” he added. “I feel like it’s enough to make the simple things as perfect as possible... Watch us in the treble-winning season, the build-up, and everything looks so easy, but it was simple things executed perfectly.

“There is no better football I can remember being played by anyone — maybe apart from the Barcelona team with (Sergio) Busquets, Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta and [Lionel] Messi — than we played that year.”

Gundogan departed City for the second time this summer having rejoined the club after a season with Barcelona. He moved to Turkish giants Galatasaray, signing a two-year deal.

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And he has already suggested that he would be looking to move into the dugout once his playing career comes to an end. Gundogan said: “We’ve discussed it very seriously, to be honest.

“I really consider it and I’ve already finished my first badge. I will do the others. It feels natural to me to go into that space... I am grateful and feel lucky that I have had amazing managers in my career so far. I really feel a motivation inside myself to go ahead with that. It would be a mistake not to try.”