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Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has revealed that he once thought about 'quitting' football for another sport.
Gvardiol arrived at the Etihad from RB Leipzig for a reported £77m move in August 2023, which made him the second-most expensive defender of all time.
The Croatian star, who started his senior career with his boyhood club Dinamo Zagreb in 2019, recently opened up about his initial struggles that made him consider opting for basketball over football, and told BBC Sport's Betty Glover,
"I was thinking about quitting because I like basketball as well. 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."
Gvardiol, then, admitted that despite his dream of becoming 'a professional football player,' he had his doubts while speaking about his progression at Man City, and added,
"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."
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"In my head last season I was like, 'no matter what, how I feel, no matter if I am fit or not, I just want to play. I just want to compete to help the team. I could feel it on my body, especially in the summer. I had a [knee] injury but now it's finally good after six months."
Gvardiol has established himself as a key player at Man City under Pep Guardiola, recording a total of 104 appearances in his ongoing two-year tenure at the Etihad, during which the defender has also netted 11 goals and provided seven assists.
What did Man City boss Pep Guardiola say about Josko Gvardiol?
According to a recent report by Fifapro, Gvardiol ranked eighth in the list of the top 10 players by matchday squad inclusions for 2024-25 worldwide.
Guardiola heaped praise on Gvardiol, hailing the 23-year-old star as 'incredible,' and said,
"We cannot forget last season he was one of the most important players, in terms of he played and played and played. He's so young, physically he is outstanding, can play in two roles perfectly. He's incredible, coach-able, listens a lot, wants to improve and that will help him to be a better player."
Man City recently secured a 2-0 win against Villarreal in their third match of the 2025/26 Champions League on October 21 at Estadi de la Ceramica.
Now, Gvardiol, along with the rest of the Guardiola clan, will be returning to Premier League action in their upcoming game against Aston Villa on October 26 at Villa Park.
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