"My childhood dream has finally come true" - Manchester City star posts heartfelt message on social media after winning UCL

Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan shared a heartwarming message after their maiden UEFA Champions League triumph on Saturday (June 10).

The Cityzens beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the final at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul to lift the trophy. Midfielder Rodri scored the solitary goal of the game in the 68th minute.

After the game, Gundogan took to Twitter to share his elation at the win. He posted a picture of himself lifting the trophy, with the caption:

"My childhood dream has finally come true #fairytale #UCLFinal2023"

Gundogan has been a crucial member of the Manchester City side this season, leading them from the front. He has scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 51 games across competitions.

The German midfielder scored a brace in City's 2-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup final last week.

With the Champions League triumph on Saturday, Manchester City became the first English side since United in the 1998-99 season to win the treble. They beat Arsenal to the Premier League title, Manchester United to the FA Cup and Inter Milan to the UCL trophy.

---

Ilkay Gundogan hails Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola

Ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday, Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan heaped praise on manager Pep Guardiola in an interview with UEFA.com.

He pointed out the Spaniard's achievements at every club he has been at, terming him one of the greatest managers of all time.

"When one looks at what he did in Spain, with Barcelona, he has won everything one can win. I played against him myself for many years with BVB against his Bayern team. He was there for three years, completely dominated the Bundesliga, consistently, every year. And now also here, at Man City: five championships in seven years in the most difficult league in the world," Gundogan said.

"So I don't think you need to say much about his attitude, his mentality, or his way of working, because it's been documented clearly in black and white. His success speaks for itself and he is probably the best manager, at least in my lifetime, anyone has ever seen," he added.

On Saturday, Pep Guardiola became the first manager to win the treble twice, doing so with Barcelona in the 2008-09 season first.

The Spaniard has now won 35 titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and City. He has won three Champions League, three Bundesliga and three La Liga titles, among others.

He joined Manchester City in 2016 and has led them to five Premier League titles, achieving a three-peat this season.