‘Treble’ Man City filled the last puzzle this summer.
Manchester City announced on the 6th (Korean time) that they had signed Yoshko Gvardiol from Leipzig, Germany, through the club’s website. His contract period is 5 years, and the transfer fee was not disclosed, but it is known to be around 77 million pounds (approximately 128.3 billion won). On the 2nd, Britain’s ‘BBC’ and ‘Sky Sports’ reported that ‘Man City have agreed to sign Gbardiol for a transfer fee of 77 million pounds’.
“I’ve always dreamed of playing for England someday. It’s such an honor to be with Manchester City,” said Gbardiol, who wore the number 24 shirt at Manchester City. “Anyone who watched Manchester City last season knows that they are the best team in the world. Achieving the treble speaks volumes about the quality of this team. To have the opportunity to work with Pep Guardiola is amazing. . Under the best football coach, my game will develop,” he said.
Man City has built the ‘most expensive central defensive line’ by recruiting Gbardiol. According to Transfermarkt, a soccer statistics website, the estimated ransom of Manchester City’s main center back Huben Dias is £80 million (133.3 billion won), the most expensive in the world. Here, Gbardiol, who boasted the second highest estimated ransom (75 million pounds transfer markt), was embraced by Man City at a higher-than-expected transfer fee. The combined ransom of Dias and Gbardiol is 157 million pounds, or 261.7 billion won in Korean money.
Man City, who won the treble last season and became the best club in the world, started to reinforce their power. Matteo Kovacic has been brought in to fill the vacant position following the departure of ‘Captain’ Ilkay Gundogan to Barcelona. First and foremost is the centre-back. Man City has high-quality center backs such as Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte, but there is a lack of depth. Nathan Ake plays mainly on the wing, while John Stones plays more as a midfielder. Man City cleaned up Laporte, who was suffering from frequent injuries, and aimed for a new center back.
Gbardiol rose to number one. Born in 2002, Gbardiol is called a genius defender. Gbardiol, who is said to have all the virtues a defender should have, is evaluated as the best center back in the Bundesliga. In his last World Cup in Qatar, he played a big role in the Croatian national team uniform, and his stock price rose even more. He appeared in all matches from the first match of the group stage until the third-place decision against Morocco. In particular, in the 3rd-4th place match, he even scored a goal and played a big role in Croatia’s entry into the 3rd place. Adding to the advantage of being a left-footed center back, which is rare in European football, his evaluation is rising even more. Gvardiol can play as a left full-back as well as a centre-back. Although he is not tall, his speed and clever play stand out. In particular, it is evaluated that his build-up is outstanding.
Manchester City put effort into signing Gbardiol early on. Romano has been linked with Manchester City since late June. He said, ‘Man City have now concluded a personal agreement with Yoshko Gbardiol’. “Guardiola highly appreciates Gbardiol,” he said. “Discussions between the clubs will begin soon. Leipzig want to keep Gvardiol. He will not sell him for less than 100 million euros. Leipzig want to make Gbardiol the most expensive centre-back in history.’
The tedious transfer fee tug-of-war continued. Romano wrote the distinctive signature ‘here we go’, but the German media refuted that there was no agreement yet. Leipzig’s attitude was stubborn. At the end of last month, the airflow changed little by little. guidelines came out. The Daily Mail said, ‘Leipzig wants to conclude by the 12th.’ Negotiations sped up. An agreement was reached in less than a week. It was not the 100 million euros Leipzig initially wanted, but a huge amount of 90 million euros.
Romano said ‘Gvardiol will be the most expensive centre-back in history’. However, BBC reporter Simon Stone emphasized, “Man City, as expected, brought Gbardiol at a high price, but it is not the highest transfer fee ever in the English Premier League.” It is said that the gvardiol deal does not include any additional costs. Reporter Stone continued, “Leipzig wanted the highest transfer fee ever, but Man City’s efforts resulted in a relatively cheap transfer fee.” The all-time record for a centre-back is the £80m Manchester United paid for Harry Maguire from Leicester City in 2019.안전놀이터
Manchester City see Gbardiol as a key player in charge of the team’s defense for the next 10 years. Coach Guardiola plans to make the unique modified defense that goes back and forth between four-back and three-back centered on Gbardiol more complete. Man City, who won the league championship last season, won the FA Cup, and won the treble of winning the European Champions League, which they dreamed of, has built a stronger power.