Gundogan hit back at Solskjaer's Manchester United claim: 'Clearly not!'

Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has hit back at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's claim that Man United are the biggest team in Manchester.

Ilkay Gundogan has dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's suggestion that Manchester United are the biggest team in Manchester.

Speaking ahead of the derby with Manchester City, Solskjaer was asked if he believed City could ever overtake United's tally of 20 league titles in his lifetime.

"No, I can't," Solskjaer said. "But, the thing is, you have to have respect for what they have done in the last ten years or even more so in the last four or five with how dominant they have been in England and in Europe.

"But we are Man United, we are always going to come back, I think we are the number one club in Manchester and that also probably means in the world."

Given that City have won five of the last ten Premier League titles, such a comment was bound to get a raise from the Blues camp, and their captain for the derby Gundogan offered a simple put-down of Solskjaer's comments.

"Clearly not in recent years," he told Sky Sports, with a smile.

"It's also thanks to us. We had a really good impact throughout the last years, it's up to us to maintain that and keep that for the next few years as well."

Previewing the derby, Gundogan noted the electric atmosphere in the city and what he expected from his side at Old Trafford.