Player reveals he struggled for game time and almost quit football as a youth player
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has said he is happy to be playing at centre-back again, after a spell covering at left-back for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Gvardiol joined City for £77m in 2023, and while he has shown himself to be excellent at the heart of defence, he was moved wide last season by Guardiola due to the club’s shortage of options there.
But this season he has been restored to a central role, and statistics show that City’s defensive metrics are better when he plays there.
They concede less, face less shots against, and have less expected goals against compared to when he features at left-back.
“I’m happy to be back to my position,” said Gvardiol. “Just play simple, protect the goal, defend the goal.
“Obviously we have new goals this season and we want to aim high. But I like to say that it’s quite early to talk about our goals. The season is long so let’s go game by game.”
Gvardiol was one of the most regular players for City in 2024-25, featuring in 55 of their 61 games. But he revealed that a youth player in Dinamo Zagreb he struggled for game time and considered switching to basketball.
“I was thinking about quitting because I like basketball as well,” said Gvardiol. “I wasn’t sure in football anymore 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.
“My dream obviously was to become a professional football player, but I didn’t know that I was going to go that far.
“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.”
