Manchester City completes contract extension with Croatia international defender Joško Gvardiol..

Manchester City announced on its official website on Wednesday that the club has extended the contract of its Croatia international defender Joško Gvardiol.

According to Manchester City's official statement, Gvardiol has signed on a new long-term five-year deal with the club which runs until the summer of 2031.

After completing his contract extension procedures, Gvardiol, who was interviewed by the Manchester City official website again, said: "When I learned that Manchester City wanted to renew my contract, I immediately felt that this was what I had dreamed of."

"From the first day I joined, the City fans were incredibly enthusiastic about me and the club gave everything to the players. This is the best football club in the world. "

“I’ve experienced endless love and respect over these three years and I couldn’t be more grateful. "

“We have great players on this team. This is a world-class team, young and with great potential. I firmly believe that we will achieve great success in the coming years. "

About Joško Gvardiol

The 24-year-old Gvardiol, was born in Zagreb, Croatia on January 23, 2002. He is 1.85 meters tall. He primarily plays as a center-back and can also play as a left-back or defensive midfielder.

Gvadiorl joined the youth academy of a local Zagreb non-league club Trešnjevka at the age of 7, and joined the Dinamo Zagreb youth academy the following year.

Gvardiol, who has performed well during his youth academy times, once attracted the attention of Bayern Munich, Lille, Borussia Dortmund, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Ajax and Roma, but he did not choose to transfer.

Gvardiol came on as a substitue on 18 October 2019 to complete his Dinamo Zagreb first-team debut, before scoring the first debut goal in his career in the next game, breaking the record as Dinamo Zagreb's youngest goal scorer.

During his two-year spell at Dinamo Zagreb, Gvardiol won the Croatian PrvaLiga title twice, the Croatian Cup once and the Croatian Super Cup once with the club.

In September 2020, Gvardiol joined RB Leipzig for €16 million, becoming the most expensive young Croatian center-back in football history, but he returned to Dinamo Zagreb on-loan first.

After returning to the club following his loan in the summer of the following year, Gvardiol quickly established himself as the undisputed key player in the RB Leipzig first-team with his outstanding performances.

During his two-and-a-half-year spell with Bundesliga powerhouse, Gvardiol won the DFB-Pokal twice with the club.

In August 2023, Gvardiol broke the record again to become world's most expensive center-back when he joined Manchester City for €90 million.

Since becoming a member of the Cityzens, Gvardiol has so far played 122 times for Manchester City across all competitions, scoring 13 goals and assisting 10 times. During which has won the Premier League title the Carabao Cup, the English FA Cup, the English Community Shield, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup title once each with the club.

Image source: Internet / Manchester City official website