About Joško Gvardiol
Joško Gvardiol (Croatian pronunciation: [jôʃko ɡʋârdioːl]; born 23 January 2002) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or left-back for Premier League club Manchester City and the Croatia national team. Gvardiol is known for his on-pitch composure, precise passing, and defensive capabilities. A product of Dinamo Zagreb youth academy, Gvardiol made his professional debut for the club in 2019, and went on to win two league titles as well as the Croatian Cup. He moved to Bundesliga club RB Leipzig in 2021, where he won two DFB-Pokals before he was signed by Manchester City in 2023 for £77 million, making him the most expensive defender in footballing history. A former Croatian youth international, Gvardiol made his debut for the senior team in 2021. He represented them at the UEFA European Championship in 2020 and 2024, and the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and 2026. At his first World Cup in 2022, he helped the team secure third place, earning his first World Cup medal. Widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the world, Gvardiol is known for his composure, ball-playing ability, and tactical versatility. On 12 February 2020, in a UEFA Youth League play-off against Dynamo Kyiv, Gvardiol successfully converted a penalty in a shootout as Dinamo won 4–3 and qualified for the round of 16. In the resulting shootout, he successfully converted his attempt again as Dinamo won 6–5 and progressed to the quarter-finals.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.