Joško Gvardiol 2025-26

When Manchester City paid £77M to take Joško Gvardiol from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023, it made him the most expensive defender in the club’s history. Within two seasons, the fee looked like a bargain. The Croatian — born in Zagreb in 2002, developed through Dinamo Zagreb’s academy, hardened through three seasons at Leipzig — is the complete modern defender: dominant in the air, technically elite on the ball, and capable of arriving in the penalty area to score goals that forwards would be proud of. Pep Guardiola had to adapt him, and Gvardiol adapted brilliantly.

Croatian

Nationality

CB / Left-Back

Position

Man City

Club

#24

Shirt Number

The Gvardiol Story

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The Most Expensive Defender in Man City History

The £77M paid to RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023 was a statement of intent from Man City: they were not just replacing ageing defenders with cheap alternatives, they were buying the best young centre-back in European football. Gvardiol had announced himself at the 2022 World Cup, where Croatia — marshalled by the 20-year-old — reached the semifinal and third-place match. His performances in the tournament drew comparison to Matthias Sammer and Franz Beckenbauer. The fee felt enormous. The performances have justified every penny.

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Goal Against Dortmund: Defenders Can Score

In a Premier League and Champions League career built on defensive excellence, Gvardiol has consistently reminded observers that ball-playing defenders in the Guardiola system are not passive participants in attack — they are active ones. His goal against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League — timed perfectly, struck cleanly, and celebrated with the composure of a man who does this regularly — crystallised the point. Under Guardiola’s positional play philosophy, the left centre-back is frequently the most advanced outfield player. Gvardiol has understood that invitation and acted on it with conviction.

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Croatia’s World Cup 2026 Defensive Cornerstone

Modric may still be pulling the strings in midfield — defying every prediction about when his powers would fade — but Croatia’s World Cup 2026 defence is built around Gvardiol. The 24-year-old is the youngest player in his position to have the experience, the tactical intelligence, and the physical presence to lead a national team’s backline at a World Cup. Croatia have historically been a side that punches above their weight at tournaments — third in 2018, third in 2022. Gvardiol is central to the belief they can do it again in North America.