Omar Marmoush thinks Man City sold their most intelligent player and it’s not De Bruyne

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Kevin De Bruyne left Manchester City during the summer after a glittering decade-long spell at the club.

After arriving from Wolfsburg in 2015, Kevin De Bruyne went on to win 19 major trophies at the Etihad, and moved on to Serie A giants Napoli as a free agent in June.

Adorning his silverware cabinet were six Premier League titles and the Champions League, the club’s first-ever success in the competition, with the playmaker inspirational in their infamous Treble campaign.

However, Omar Marmoush says he once played with someone even more intelligent on the pitch.

Omar Marmoush believes Ilkay Gundogan had best football brain

Ilkay Gundogan agreed to leave Manchester City for the second time during the summer after amicably discussing his future with Pep Guardiola.

Told he would only be restricted to a squad role this season, Gundogan made the decision to join Galatasaray in Turkey, where he has family roots.

Gundogan became a City hero over his two stints at the club, making 358 appearances in total. The midfielder also captained the side that won the Champions League in June 2023.

Asked to build his ultimate City player by TNT Sports, Marmoush, perhaps surprisingly, opted for Gundogan over De Bruyne in the best football brain category.

He barely hesitated, too.

But there was something of a consolation for De Bruyne after he was crowned as the player with the best right foot.

How Ilkay Gundogan has done at Galatasaray

It hasn’t been the easiest start to life for Gundogan in Turkey.

He started Galatasaray’s 5-1 Champions League thumping at the hands of Eintracht Frankfurt in only his second game at the club, before facing the media.

Gundogan accused his side of collapsing mentally after conceding the equaliser.

Speaking to DAZN, he said: “It felt like we invited Frankfurt every time we conceded, simply giving them away. In the Champions League, every opponent has the quality to punish these errors.

“If you make the first, the second, the third, then you’ll be punished at some point. Frankfurt did that coolly today and scored five goals accordingly. It just wasn’t good enough overall.”

Galatasaray have won seven from seven in the Turkish Super Lig, though, and Gundogan has already demonstrated the qualities that made him undroppable at City for so many years.