Who Decides Gündoğan's Fate at Galatasaray?

Ilkay Gündoğan has played just 11 minutes of football all season for Galatasaray, and the question of who is responsible now sits squarely with coach Okan Buruk. The Turkish champions’ management of a high-profile free signing has become a live governance question: how does a club of this standing recruit a former Germany captain, then leave him on the margins of the squad?

Buruk has preferred Lucas Torreira and Gabriel Sara in central midfield. The most recent illustration came in the 3-1 win over Kasimpasa, a match Gündoğan watched from the bench without ever coming on. Asked afterwards whether he would be ready to face Barcelona, his former club, in the Champions League, his answer laid bare the disconnect between the club’s recruitment and its on-field deployment. “I’m not playing, so why would I be ready?” he said.

The accountability trail is clear. Gündoğan arrived in Istanbul in the summer of 2025 on a free transfer, a move laden with expectation from the club’s leadership. Two matches later, that investment has yet to be justified on the pitch, and the veteran’s future and role have been thrown into doubt. Whether the responsibility lies with the coach’s selection choices or with those who sanctioned the signing, the mismatch between promise and playing time is now a pressing question for the hierarchy.

A near-term test of the coach’s decisions may be coming. Torreira’s sending-off could force a midfield reshuffle, and according to the German newspaper Bild, that could hand Gündoğan a fresh chance to stake his claim when Galatasaray face Genclerbirligi. Such an opportunity would offer at least a partial answer to whether the current pecking order reflects sporting judgment or an oversight in squad planning.

The Barcelona fixture carries particular weight in this assessment. Gündoğan wore the Catalan club’s shirt during the 2023-2024 season before returning to Manchester City and then moving to Galatasaray. Facing them in the Champions League while unable to command a regular place in his new side’s lineup underscores the scale of the gap between his standing in the game and his current circumstances.

Meanwhile, the consequences of the club’s management of the player are rippling outward. In Nuremberg, where Gündoğan launched his career in 2009, supporters have long entertained the idea of reclaiming one of the biggest names ever to wear the club’s shirt. His struggles in Istanbul have reignited that conversation, and the player himself has left the door ajar. Speaking to Sky, he said: “I can certainly imagine returning, in any role; whether for one or two more years as a player, or perhaps in an administrative position or as a coach. I don’t know, everything is possible.”

That statement puts the ball back in multiple courts. Galatasaray’s coaching staff must decide whether and how to use a player they signed; the club’s leadership must weigh the implications of a marquee free transfer going unused; and the player must assess whether his prospects lie in pressing for a place in Buruk’s plans or in pursuing the homecoming Nuremberg’s fans continue to hope for.

Caught between a bench role in Istanbul and the hope of facing Barcelona, Gündoğan may yet find his way back to the club where it all began. Should his current circumstances drag on, that possibility could become reality, and the question of who bears responsibility for this stalled start would follow him out of Istanbul.