JOSKO GVARDIOL became the second-most expensive defender ever with his £77m move to Manchester City – but the defender nearly quit football as it didn’t make him happy.
His 2023 transfer from RB Leipzig put him just behind Harry Maguire, who joined Manchester United from Leicester City in an £80m deal.
But the Croatian revealed he almost quit his “dream” while playing for his boyhood club Dinamo Zagreb.
He joined Zagreb’s youth side in 2010 but struggled to get minutes as he moved up the ranks.
By 16, he was considering moving away from football after struggling.
He told BBC Sport: “I was thinking about quitting because I like basketball as well.
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“I wasn’t sure in football any more because when you get to the training ground you don’t feel happy any more, you know?
“I was just trying to find other solutions and to feel happier than I felt before because all of my friends were playing basketball.”
But the now 23-year-old stuck at it and broke into Zagreb’s senior team in 2019.
He spent two seasons in the senior side winning titles including the Croatian Super Cup and the League Cup.
In 2021, he joined Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and impressed in his two seasons at the club.
The centre-back then moved to Manchester City on a five-year deal.
Gvardiol has established himself as a key part of the squad to City boss Pep Guardiola – something he could not have imagined years ago.
He said: “If you go five years back and ask me, do you see yourself at Manchester City in 2023, ’24, ’25? I would say no chance, like really impossible.”
Pep favoured putting the Croat in a left-back position after claiming he can play in both roles.
City suffered a dip in form last year, resulting in their first trophyless season since 2016/17.
But the Sky Blues seem to have found their mojo again this season, staying unbeaten in their last five Premier League games.
Gvardiol has since been returned to centre-back and flourished.
Speaking on the reshuffle, he said: “I’m happy to be back to my position,
“Just play simple, protect the goal, defend the goal.”
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Former City striker Ellen White said Gvardiol’s return to centre-back has improved the defence this season, adding: “He was all right at left-back and scored a lot of goals.
“The partnership he has built with Ruben Dias, and having Rodri in front and Gianluigi Donnarumma behind, they are building the connections and relationships that they didn’t have last season.”
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