Josko Gvardiol is well-known Croatian professional footballer who plays as defender. He plays for English Premier League giants Manchester City and the Croatia national team. Gvardiol can play as a left full-back, left wing-back or left most central defender in a back two or three defense.
Described as an accomplished defender capable of excellently executing all defensive duties, Gvardiol is ranked among the world’s best talents. The young Croatian is famous for his strong left foot, physical attributes, ability to move with the ball and exceptional positioning and marking. He is also generously gifted with the capability of reading attacks and the pace and technique to counter them.
Josko is the most expensive defender in the history of football after signing for Manchester City for 77 million pounds. Given his outstanding displays in his EPL debut season he is arguably the best left-back for the 2023-24 season.
Age and Birthday
Born in the Croatian capital city Zagreb on 23 January 2002, Gvardiol is 22 years old as of 2024.
Height
Gvardion is 185 cm (6 feet 1 inch) tall.
Preferred foot
The Croatian sensation is left-footed.
Josko Gvardiol Family
Tihomir Gvardiol (father) and Sanja Gvardiol (mother) are loving and caring parents of Josko and his two sisters. It is Tihomir, a former amateur player who introduced his son to football at an early age.
Josko Gvardiol Club Career
Dinamo Zagreb: 2009-2021
Youth level: 2009-2019
Gvardiol began his football career at Nogometni klub Tresnjevka at the age of seven years. He relocated to Dinamo Zagreb academy where he played in various positions including left-back, center back and midfield. His impressive performance at youth level prompted his promotion to the senior team in the 2019 pre-season. He scored his debut senior goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Austria Klagenfurt on 2 July 2019. Josko was featured in the Guardian’s Next Generation list on 10 October 2019.
Senior level: 2019-2021
He made his league debut in a 4-2 win against Gorica on 18 October 2019, coming on from the bench. He scored his first league goal in his second league match a 1-0 win over Inter Zapresic on 2 November. Consequently, he became the sixth youngest player to score for Dinamo in the league. On 25 June 2020, Gvardiol penned a five-year deal with Dinamo.
On 26 August, Josko came on as a substitute in a Champions League qualifying match against CFR Cluj. He helped Dinamo advance to the third qualifying round in a 6-5 shoot-out win after he converted his spot-kick. However, in the Champions League qualifier against Ferencvaros on 16 September, he made a costly mistaken which led to his team conceding goal in a 2-1 loss.
On 28 September 2020, Germany club RB Leipzig signed a Gvardiol from Dinamo on a five-year deal worth over 16 million Euros. He was loaned back to Dinamo until the end of the season.
Josko made his senior UEFA competition debut on 22 October 2020 in a 0-0 Europa League draw against Feyenoord. He scored his first senior European competition goal on 10 December in a 3-1 Europa League victory over CSKA Moscow. His last game for Dinamo was a 1-0 win against Sibenik on 22 May 2021.
RB Leipzig: 2021-2023
He debuted in the Bundesliga and played the whole match in a 4-0 win against VfB Stuttgart on 20 August 2021. With his noticeable play making him a regular starter, Gvardiol made his Champion’s League debut for the club in a 6-3 loss against Manchester City on 15 September. He scored his first goal for Leipzig against Borussia Monchengladbach on 11 December. In his debut season, Leipzig were DFB-Pokal winners and Europa League semi-finalists for the first time in the club’s history. Moreover, the DFB Pokal was the maiden major trophy in the club’s history.
On 1 September 2022, he signed a contract extension with the Germany club until 2027. This was after Leipzig had turned down Chelsea’s 90 million Euro offer for the highly rated youngster. He scored his debut Champions League goal on 25 October in a 3-2 win over Real Madrid. During their Champions League round of 16 one -all draw against Manchester City, he scored the equalizer. At 21 years and 30 days, Josko became the youngest Croatian to score in Champions League knockouts.
Manchester City: 2023-present
On 5 August 2023, Gvardiol signed for the Premier League giants on a five-year contract of close to 90 million Euros, making him the world’s second most expensive defender. He made his EPL debut for the Citizens as a substitute in a 3-0 win over Burnley on 11 August. His first City start was against Sevilla in the 2023 UEFA Super Cup followed by his first EPL start three days later against Newcastle United. Gvardiol scored his maiden goal for Manchester City in a 3-3 away Champions League draw against Real Madrid on 9 April 2024. His first Premier League goal and assist came only four days later in a 5-1 win over Luton Town.
With his outstanding defensive and offensive performances, Josko has already established himself as the club’s preferred left-back. He is among the top defenders in the English Premier League.
The Croatian concluded his debut season with the Citizens with a Premier League winner’s medal. This is after he played a key role in helping Manchester City secure the EPL title for the fourth time in a row. However their dreams of winning a domestic double were shuttered by their City rivals Manchester United who won the FA Cup finals 2-1 on 25 May 2024.
Josko Gvardiol International Career
Gvardiol was first called into the Croatia national U-21 team for the U-21 Euro 2021 qualifiers in 2019 at just age 17. He debuted as a starter in a 3-1 victory against Lithuania on 14 November.
He made his first senior appearance as a half-time substitute in a 1-0 loss against Belgium on 6 June 2021. His debut start for the national team was in the Euro 2020 opening match 1-0 defeat to England. Gvardiol consequently became the youngest Croatian player to play in a major tournament at 19 years, 4 months and 21 days. He scored his first goal for his nation in a World Cup qualifying 3-0 win over Cyprus on 8 October.
Josko was in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup squad as his diligence and prowess helped Croatia finish as the tournament’s number three. He scored his first goal in an international major tournament during their third-place play-off match against Morocco. Aged 20 years, 10 months and 24 days, he became Croatia’s youngest scorer at a major tournament.
Josko Gvardiol Awards
Dinamo Zagreb
- Prva HNL: 2019-20
- Croatian Super Cup: 2019
- Croatian Cup: 2020-21
RB Leipzig
- DFB-Pokal: 2021-22
Manchester City
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2023
- UEFA Super Cup: 2023
- English Premier League: 2023-24
- FA Cup runner-up: 2023-24
Croatia
- FIFA World Cup third-place: 2022
Individual
- VDV Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2022-23
- Kopa Trophy sixth position: 2022
- IFFHS Men’s World Team: 2022
- IFFHS Men’s World Youth (U20) Team: 2022
- Trophy Footballer Team of the Year: 2021
- Trophy Footballer Best Prva HNL U-21 player: 2021
Josko Gvardiol Net Worth
The Croatian footballer has an estimated net worth of over $ 25 million as of 2024.