BT Sport's Des Kelly explains Ilkay Gundogan autograph after social media jibes
Des Kelly has explained why he asked Ilkay Gundogan to autograph an armband he was wearing during BT Sport’s coverage of the Champions League final.
Gundogan captained Manchester City to an historic 1-0 win over Inter Milan at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on Saturday night. The narrow victory, which came courtesy of Rodri’s second-half strike, saw them complete a Treble, following their triumphs in the Premier League and FA Cup.
After Ederson made two impressive saves to keep Inter out and secure City’s win, BT Sport’s pitchside reporter Kelly was tasked with getting some reactions. He grabbed Gundogan as he walked around the pitch to celebrate with the City fans who had travelled to Turkey for the occasion.
The German midfielder was asked some straightforward questions about the game and what the win meant for the club before Kelly went slightly off-piste. The interviewer was wearing a fluorescent armband, much like the one Gundogan was wearing as captain, and he asked him to sign it.
“Could you sign this armband? Because I’m getting an enormous amount of stick on Twitter for wearing it,” he explained while handing it over to the bemused City skipper. “I have to wear that to get on the pitch, but everyone thinks I’m the new John Terry or something. So this is a memento that I’ll keep forever.”
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Gundogan obliged, using a pen to scribble his signature on it, to which Kelly responded: “Ilkay, good man!” The exchange struck many BT Sport viewers as bizarre.
Des Kelly asked Ilkay Gundogan to sign his armband (BT Sport)“Des Kelly. No shame. Strange strange vibes,” one viewer tweeted. “So Des Kelly didn't ask Gundogan if that's his last City game. But he did ask for his autograph? Kewl, kewl,” another wrote.
“Des Kelly getting Gundogan to sign his media pass arm band… The game’s gone,” another added. One fan simply wrote: “What on earth is des kelly playing at?”
Well, all became clear later on when Kelly tweeted a picture of Gundogan holding up the signed armband with the caption: “The armband kindly signed by Man City's Treble-winning captain İlkay Gündoğan on TV tonight is to auctioned online for Royal National College For The Blind. Details to follow soon. @ManCity”
The match is not just historic for Man City – it could hold further meaning for Gundogan, whose contract is about to expire. The City captain is yet to announce whether he intends to sign a new deal and stay with Pep Guardiola’s side, who move on.
“It is an unbelievable night. We are so happy,” he said. “It’s difficult to put everything into words, what just happened. Still difficult to realise. Today we made history.
“No, it didn’t [sink in yet]. We knew everyone was talking about the treble, especially after that FA Cup Final. The pressure was there, but this team is built to handle the pressure in the best possible way. That is what we did tonight.”
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