Manchester City's German midfielder of Turkish descent İlkay Gündoğan said Wednesday he misses his family and relatives back home since being stranded in the U.K. due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"Family means everything to me. It’s how I was raised, as I have a Turkish background and went there every summer to see my grandparents,” the 30-year-old German football player of Turkish descent said on FIFA's "PlayOn" podcast, emphasizing the importance of strong family ties.
"It’s such a tight bond and is so important. That’s why the coronavirus situation right now is probably one of the most difficult times of my life."
Earlier last December, Turkey banned flights from the U.K. due to a new fast-spreading COVID-19 strain there.
Back in January, Manchester City in a statement said Gündoğan was launching a charity campaign for Manchester restaurants and cafes that had fallen on tough times during the pandemic.
"I feel like I have a responsibility to society, whether it is in Germany, Turkey, or even here in Manchester," he said.
"Charity for Manchester. I love spending time in all the various restaurants and cafes across Manchester. But as you may all know, the gastronomy (industry) is in a very difficult situation due to the lockdown right now," Gündoğan previously tweeted.
Gündoğan, a Manchester City midfielder since 2016, was born to Turkish parents in 1990 in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. His parents had migrated to Germany to work there.
He was raised in Gelsenkirchen but has relatives living in Turkey’s western province of Balıkesir.
Before Manchester City, Gündoğan played for Germany's Borussia Dortmund and won the 2012 German Bundesliga title with the club.
He claimed back-to-back English Premier League titles with Man City in 2018 and 2019 and scored eight goals in 42 international caps for the German national team.
This season, Gündoğan tallied 13 goals in 30 appearances for Manchester City.
