Man City star’s wife Sara Gundogan slammed Manchester for ‘horrible food

“And I’m a social person. So it took me a bit of time, but I made it friends and it was really nice.

“After making friends, I was really happy. I had my own life and routine in Manchester and I have one of my best friends there.”

There were several rumours about Ilkay’s future in the summer, with the midfielder linked with clubs across the globe, while there was also a chance he would stay at City after a seven-year spell. Sara went onto explain the difficulty of leaving Manchester behind after finding out her husband would be moving abroad.

“Over the years I would see friends moving so it’s something that’s always around in football and you would suddenly just have a phone call from them telling you they’re going to another country”, she said. “So, it’s always around, it’s always happening but I didn’t imagine that it would be us and when it’s you it’s big a shock.

“It’s always sad, especially because you make friends, you’re happy somewhere, you build your life and then you have to leave all the people you love.” Sara also reflected on her initial struggles in Manchester, but said she ‘started to enjoy everything’.

“‘I think it’s really hard to live in England when you are alone in the house and you can’t meet anyone”, she said. “But when you start to know a bit more about it, how to go around and have friends, I think the place changes completely and you can enjoy it.

“I started to enjoy everything and I kind of miss Manchester now.”

Sara’s previous comments on restaurants in Manchester sparked backlash among foodies and critics. Renowned food critic Jay Rayner, quoted by the Sun, responded: “This is a ludicrous point of view. Manchester’s packed full of brilliant, independent restaurants.

“It’s an absolute gem of a place to eat and comments like this during difficult economic times are not helpful to businesses struggling to make ends meet.”

One local restaurant owner, who reportedly contacted Sara directly, told her in a message: “There’s so many great restaurants in Manchester. I suggest you do research before you speak.”

They added: “And only because your husband is a footballer and you have money and you have everything probably paid for and a great life given to you here in Manchester. You should be grateful for that instead of slagging restaurants.”

But Sara hit back: “So because we are successful people we can’t give an honest opinion? I tried all the best restaurants here but for me it’s a no. I can’t lie.

“Unfortunately I’m used to Italy so you can imagine it’s hard to compare.” She added: “It’s a great city, great people but not for restaurants.”

In January of last year though, Sara returned to the city centre for a meal out with her husband and said she’d finally found an establishment she loved ‘everything’ about. The couple made a visit to Michael Shaw’s MUSU, on Bridge Street, which opened at the end of November, and had an ‘amazing food experience’.

The mum-to-be shared her evening through a series of photos on Instagram stories, taking her half a million followers along with her. She said: “I finally have a favourite restaurant in Manchester.

“Food amazing, good service, everything perfect, not loud music. Amazing food experience.

Sara is one of the stars of Prime Video’s new series Married To The Game which follows the lives of five football WAGS, aiming to give an insight into the reality of dating a top-level footballer. She was a successful TV presenter and model before meeting her footballer husband.