Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol reveals he nearly quit football for basketball in younger days

Manchester City and Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol

made a big revelation in an exclusive interview, talking about how he nearly quit football for basketball during his youth team days at Dinamo Zagreb a few years ago. The 23-year-old spoke to Betty Glover of BBC Sport about how he was considering his options away from football seven years ago while struggling for game time in the Dinamo Zagreb youth team.

But ultimately, Josko Gvardiol managed to find his spark in football and then, in the summer of 2022, he joined Manchester City from RB Leipzig for £77m, becoming the second-most expensive defender in history behind Harry Maguire, who joined Manchester United from Leicester City for £80m in 2019. He was quoted as saying about his youth days,

“I was thinking about quitting (football) 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,” he added. Moreover, following his stellar performances at Dinamo Zagreb upon making their senior team a few years ago, winning consecutive league titles and a cup title, he moved to RB Leipzig in 2021 for a move worth £16m.

Josko Gvardiol has won Premier League title with Manchester City

Josko Gvardiol, who is currently in his third year of the five-year contract at Manchester City, winning the Premier League title in his first season, also remarked, “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.”

As Manchester City have started to improve their performances in the ongoing Premier League 2025-26 season in the last few weeks with Josko Gvardiol firmly involved, they could be in line to win another top-fight title at the expense of Liverpool and Arsenal this campaign.