Ilkay Gundogan becomes father as wife Sara gives birth to first child
Ilkay Gundogan and his wife Sara Arfaoui have welcomed their first child, with baby Kais born on the day after Manchester City's Champions League win over RB Leipzig.
The City midfielder's spouse made the announcement on Instagram with the caption "Our love is here... Kais Gundogan 15.03.23." A number of Gundogan's team-mates sent messages of congratulations, including City star Jack Grealish and the former Dortmund man's Germany colleague Jerome Boateng.
Arfaoui shared three photos in her post, including one of each parent holding the baby. Also included was a photo of the baby's arm and ear, with the youngster arriving after Gundogan and Arfaoui tied the knot in 2022.
Gundogan had been in action the day before his child was born, playing and scoring in a 7-0 victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League round of 16. Erling Haaland scored five times in the game to send Pep Guardiola's team through to the quarter-finals.
The 32-year-old was also involved in City's run to the final four last season. He came off the bench in the second leg of the semi-final against Real Madrid, only for the Spanish side to mount a late comeback and win after extra-time.
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Real Madrid are among the seven sides who could be drawn against Pep Guardiola's City in this season's quarter-finals. Chelsea are the only other English representatives, while Bayern Munich, Benfica, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Napoli are also still in the running.
Ilkay Gundogan's wife Sara shared news of the new arrival on Instagram
The German international was shown holding his first-bornAhead of Manchester City's match against Leipzig, Gundogan had spoken of the importance of his club's fans. City beat the same opponents 6-3 in last season's group stage, and the midweek win ensured they went through 8-1 on aggregate.
“Our fans are always amazing. Home and away, they are always with us,” the German international told club media. “They can really play their part on Tuesday night. In a close game, they can be the decisive factor.
“There is no better feeling than playing an important match at the Etihad with our fans and we are all excited to get out there and play with them right behind us.”
After the victory, manager Guardiola hailed his team's defensive strength, as well as their firepower. It was City's fifth clean sheet in this season's competition after they shut out Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and FC Copenhagen (twice) in the group stage.
"Always we have scored goals here in the Champions League," Guardiola said. "We scored four against Madrid, six against Monaco, four against Tottenham.
"The problem is not the feeling that we don’t score goals. The problem is we concede stupid goals in the past.
"We give them. Most of the cases we give them. And in this competition and one of the reasons why for the build-up, for many things, we play four central defenders in that way, it does not mean you are defending team."
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