REVEALED: Man City told HUGE asking price for Guardiola favourite

Tom Weber

• Updated: 23 May 2023 15:34 BST
• 3 min read

Pep Guardiola has long been an admirer of RB Leipzig star Josko Gvardiol, but Manchester City will have to break the bank to get him.

The Croatian has become one of the Bundesliga's outstanding performers since his €18.8 million switch from Dinamo Zagreb in 2021. A solid defender and good with the ball at his feet, the 21-year-old is a sought-after commodity, and has been for a while.

Gvardiol has impressed wherever he has played, be it on the big stage at the World Cup, in the Champions League or in the Bundesliga. Tied down to a long-term contract that runs until 2027, RB Leipzig have indicated that they will play hardball in order to squeeze as much value out of their star man as possible.

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Guardiola and Manchester City were already vying for his services last year but were unable to strike a deal. Their interest has not diminished despite Leipzig enjoying something of a mixed campaign, though recent results - getting to the DFB-Pokal final and beating Bayern in the league -are causing plenty of optimism in Saxony's largest city.

As such, Leipzig are refusing to budge on their sizeable asking price for Gvardiol.

Everyone's got a price

On the record, the Red Bulls are not prepared to sell, but everyone has a price, and as BILD has revealed, so too does Gvardiol. Leipzig would be prepared to entertain offers if they clocked in at €100m, claims the German paper.

Indeed, Leipzig would be more than willing to sell at this price as they have internally set themselves the objective of raking in 'well over €100m from sales' this summer. Would Manchester City be prepared to pay that much even though Guardiola likes the player?

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It is doubtful seeing as though the Spaniard has shown himself to be very adept at getting the best out of lower-value and quality players like Manuel Akanji, who was deemed not good enough for Borussia Dortmund but has excelled at City.

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