Where Josko Gvardiol ranks among most expensive defender transfers ever

Pep Guardiola got in on a joke that has dogged Josko Gvardiol for years.

"What a beautiful surname he has," Manchester City's manager grinned before confirming that the Croatian centre-back was undergoing a medical for the European and Premier League champions. Rather than an homage to the Catalan coach, Gvardiol's last name is actually derived from the Latin verb 'guardare', which fittingly translates as 'to guard'.

Gvardiol may only be 21 years of age but he has emerged as one of the most highly rated defenders in the world - a lofty billing that is reflected by the hefty fee City belatedly agreed with RB Leipzig this summer.

Here's how Gvardiol's transfer to Manchester City compares to the most expensive players to ever guard their own team's goal.

Josko Gvardiol to Man City details

Manchester City's Premier League rivals Chelsea were initially the front runners, failing with an approach for Gvardiol last summer before reigniting their interest in January. Real Madrid entered the race for the Golden Boy nominee, placing Gvardiol top of their centre-back targets in April as reported by 90min.

However, Los Blancos have prioritised other areas of the pitch, notably midfield, while Chelsea opted to promote from within by handing the left-footed centre-back Levi Colwill a new six-year deal this summer.

City's intent has not shifted even if their patience has been tested. The reigning Premier League champions are no strangers to walking away from a deal which does not match their valuation - as they have previously demonstrated with Harry Maguire, Marc Cucurella and even Declan Rice this summer.

At one point in July, RB Leipzig sporting director Max Eberl threatened to step back from negotiations as the clubs remained "very far apart".

Talks between both parties were gummed up by the proposed fee. RB Leipzig were intent on making Gvardiol the most expensive defender in history, eclipsing the £80m which Manchester United spent on Maguire in 2019.

Finally, after months of painstaking negotiations, City appear to have won the battle of wills. Three days before Gvardiol was officially unveiled, 90min revealed that Leipzig had settled for an initial fee of £77.5m (€90m).

The final sum for Gvardiol may have just been shy of Maguire's record, but where does he rank on the list of the game's most expensive defenders ever?

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Where Josko Gvardiol ranks among most expensive defender transfers ever

Gvardiol slots into second place on the all-time list of costly defenders, sandwiched between the hulking figures of Maguire and Virgil van Dijk.

Liverpool briefly made Van Dijk the most expensive centre-back ever in January 2018, coughing up £75m to Southampton. During the previous summer, Van Dijk was accused of going on strike to force through a move by his last Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino. The Saints stuck to their guns and kept the unhappy defender on their books for another six months, driving up the price from an initial £60m.

Unsurprisingly, given the financial clout that the Premier League wields, the four most expensive defenders of all time have been signed by English clubs. Wesley Fofana moved to Chelsea in the summer of 2022 for the same fee as Van Dijk but has come nowhere near the performances produced by the 2019 UEFA Men's Player of the Year.

Injury has routinely derailed Fofana's integration in west London. After sitting out 20 games during his debut campaign, the luckless Frenchman ruptured his cruciate ligament in July.

Matthijs de Ligt has been repeatedly linked with a move to the Premier League but is yet to permanently journey across the Channel. The towering Dutch centre-back is the only defender that has ever commanded two separate transfer fees in excess of £50m.

At just 21, Gvardiol has plenty of time to make another expensive move but he has to guard the goal for Guardiola's team first.

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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Toby Cudworth is joined by Graeme Bailey to discuss the next steps in Bayern Munich's Harry Kane hunt, Brighton rejecting another Chelsea bid for Moises Caicedo, who has had the most impressive transfer window so far & more!

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