Ilkay Gundogan warns his Manchester City teammates that if they want to be on the same level as Barcelona and Real Madrid, they can’t take anything for granted in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s manne are desperate to win the title this year after missing out last season en route to a record-breaking Premier League campaign.
But as Germany playmaker Gundogan returns to his hometown of Gelsenkirchen to face Schalke in tonight’s 10 pm last-16 first leg, he says: “There is a danger as everyone thinks Schalke don’t have a chance and even though it’s an away game, we’re expected to dominate.
“Schalke have nothing to lose - we have a lot - which raises the pressure on us.
“We’ve experienced a lot in the Champions League in recent years - not all of it positive, of course. We should’ve won it at least once.
BIG TARGET: Pep Guardiola. Photo: JON SUPER/REUTERS
“Every club, every team, every single player would like to lift this trophy some time.
“The competition to win it is so big year in, year out, so your chances are not that good, but there’s a team that wins it every year.
“If you want to be in the international elite, as a club and as a player, you need to clinch this trophy.
“If we were to win it someday, the club would enter a new era - the same level as Real, Barca, Bayern [Munich] or Juventus. Our job is to try to give it our all to make that a reality.”