Man City Star Gvardiol Names Messi As Idol Despite Their World Cup Matchup

• Josko Gvardiol completed his Manchester City move from RB Leipzig for £77.6m
• The Croatian defender could be in line for his debut against Arsenal in the Community Shield today
• He had a humiliating experience against Lionel Messi at the Qatar 2022 World Cup

Josko Gvardiol has named his footballing idol after completing his Manchester City move from RB Leipzig, and it has raised eyebrows because he once had a humiliating experience against him.

City wrapped up the signing of one of the world's best young defenders to bolster an already strong defence which completed a historic treble last season.

He signed for a club-record fee for a defender, £77.6mil, narrowly behind Harry Maguire's world-record fee for a defender paid by Manchester United in 2019.

His signing could impact the future of Spanish centre-back Aymeric Laporte, with Pep Guardiola having six central defenders at his disposal.

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Football

Gvardiol idolises Messi

In the get to know Gvardiol section during his unveiling, he answered some quick questions, one of which was to name his football idol, and he answered Lionel Messi.

This raised eyebrows among fans after their encounter at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, in the semi-final match between Argentina and Croatia.

Messi received a ball at the halfway line and outran Gvardiol before taking a quick pause and turn to beat the 21-year-old into the box and laid it onto the path of his new teammate at City, Julian Alvarez, who scored the third goal and wrapped it for the champions.

As reported by AS English, the defender claimed he had nothing to be ashamed of as he was dribbled by the best player in the sport, who is a different player when in the national team jersey.

He has a thing in common with his new manager Guardiola, who loves Messi and utilised him to his full potential during their time together at FC Barcelona.

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Football

5 most expensive EPL defenders

Sports Brief ranked the top five most expensive Premier League defenders after Josko Gvardiol completed his big-money move from RB Leipzig to Manchester City.

The Croatian slots in at second place, behind the world's most expensive Harry Maguire, with City teammate Ruben Dias also making the list at fifth place.