The 21-year-old follows in the footsteps of compatriot, Mateo Kovacic.
Gvardiol arrives from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and will now look ahead to his first campaign in the Premier League in 2023/24.
Here are 10 things you may or may not know about our new man…
BOSSING IT
Gvardiol has two nicknames.
The first is ‘The Croatian Wall’ coined, clearly, because of his defensive resilience in repelling dangerous attacks both at domestic and international level.
The second is of more interest to those of sky blue persuasion.
It’s ‘Little Pep’ due to the similarity between his surname and that of the manager.
STRIKING AMBITIONS
Gvardiol is now firmly established as a central defender – but he’s not always wanted to play at the back.
When he was six-years-old, his neighbour Vedran Peric – and also youth coach at NK Tresnjevka – took him to a training session at the club.
Gvardiol was much more interested in scoring than stopping when out on the pitch during those early sessions.
“He kept asking to play up front,” said Peric.
“And because you need to let kids trying out everything, I gave in.”
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However, the coach soon spotted his immense potential in defence.
“He had this great ability to read the game,” added Peric.
“We knew that if he was in defence, we wouldn’t concede.
“He’d intercept absolutely everything, whether long or short balls. He was just so quick.”
Shortly after, he made the switch from NK Tresnjevka to the academy set-up at Dinamo Zagreb and the rest is history.
DESTINED FOR GREATNESS
Gvardiol has been tipped for stardom for quite some time.
In fact, the classy centre-half has featured in two polls, naming starlets that can make it right to the top.
The Guardian produced their ‘Next Generation’ series for 2019, featuring what they believed were the 60 best young talents in world football.
Gvardiol made the cut, alongside Eduardo Camavinga, then of Rennes and now of Real Madrid, Pedri, then of Las Palmas and now of Barcelona and Ansu Fati, also of Barcelona.
And Goal produced, in 2021, their ‘NXGN: The 50 beat wonderkids in football’ and, again, Gvardiol featured, coming in at a very respectable No.20.
FISHING BACKGROUND
Gvardiol has been reeling in admirers since his early days at first club, NK Tresnjevka.
And, while his dad, Tihomir Gvardiol, also played amateur football for Tresnjevka, he’s been catching things of a different variety for many years.
Gvardiol Snr works as a fisherman out of Dolac Market in Zagreb.
Josko went out on the sea just once with his father but decided that was more than enough as he turned his attention to making it in the game.
He said: “I can recall moments from my childhood. I’m always happy to think back.
“My dad is still a fisherman. I spent a lot of time with him. When I’d finished school and training, I’d stop to see him at the fish market.
“I also went fishing with him once. I was quite young at the time. It’s by no means an easy job. Once was more than enough for me!”
PERFECT FIT
We all know by now that Pep Guardiola likes players who are comfortable on the ball, whether that’s strikers, midfielder, defenders or goalkeepers.
And judging by the thoughts of Zoran Mamic, his former head coach of Dinamo Zagreb, Gvardiol will fit in just fine at City.
Speaking about his qualities, he said of Gvardiol: “A totally modern centre-back.
“His defensive skills, like one-on-one and aerial abilities, are amazing. There are centre-backs with those kind of qualities, but the things that make him different from the others and better is the fact that he can play. He wants to play. His playmaking abilities are amazing.
“When he has the ball, it’s not a risk. There’s not a lot of centre-backs in the world right now who want to play like that.”
SPECIAL TALENTS - GVARDIOL AND KOVACIC
Gvardiol is just one name on an impressive list of high-quality players to have graduated from Dinamo Zagreb – but Mamic says he was one of the special ones.
Dinamo have produced some outstanding players over the years, including Real Madrid’s Luka Modric.
There’s always a chance that outstanding starlets don’t make it in the game, despite a meteoric rise but Mamic said there was no doubts about Gvardiol.
“Many players were destined to become great players. I can’t remember the player who had a more unanimous decision than Josko.
“Even Modric had to go out on loan before getting his chance.
“With Josko, no one said he should go on loan. Only Kovacic and him, aged 16, they were ready for the first team.”
SILVA LINING
What kind of player would you compare Gvardiol to?
Well, his former coach at both Dinamo and Croatia, Tomislav Rukavina believes, there are similarities between him and Brazil legend, Thiago Silva.
“His tremendous self-confidence, strong leadership traits and courage all remind me of Thiago Silva,” said Rukavina.
“He is extremely strong, fast, agile and durable. He has excellent jump timing and excellent heading technique. He has a developed sense of the game, excellent perception of situations and timely response to what’s happening on the pitch.”
LINK UP WITH KOVACIC
Gvardiol is linking up with Croatian friend, Kovacic…finally!
Kovacic revealed in an interview in September 2022 that he advised Chelsea’s owners to sign Gvardiol in the hope of playing alongside him at Stamford Bridge.
He said: “At the club, they asked me about Josko, I told them all the best.
“I don’t need to say anything about his football, they know what kind of player he is and his character is excellent.
“I have see in the national team how eager he is to play, he has a great career ahead of him and I hope that one day we will play together in the club.”
Well you will now.
THIRD TIME LUCKY
It’s not just with Chelsea where Gvardiol could have previously made the move to England.
He also almost joined Leeds United!
It was the summer of 2020 and Marco Bielsa was on the lookout for a centre-half after failing to tempt Brighton to let Leeds turn their loan deal for Ben White into a permanent move.
Bielsa wanted Gvardiol but the strapping stopper eventually moved to RB Leipzig instead, despite what he called a ‘very, very good offer’ from the Elland Road side.
UCL DEBUT
Gvardiol has now played in the Champions League a dozen times – but his debut in the illustrious European competition came against City.
In September 2021, he played in RB Leipzig’s 6-3 defeat to City at the Etihad.
He came on for Christian Nkunku in the 81st minute, who had scored a hat-trick for the Bundesliga outift.
Goals from Nathan Ake, Nordi Mukiele (og), Riyad Mahrez, Jack Grealish, Joao Cancelo and Gabriel Jesus won the tie for Pep Guardiola’s men.
Now Josko will be playing in the UCL for City - not against us!
