Josko Gvardiol makes Real Madrid come-and-get-me plea following entourage talks | OneFootball

Josko Gvardiol has offered himself to Real Madrid as the La Liga club look to end a transfer chase that has lasted over three years, according to Spanish reports. 

The 15-time UEFA Champions League winners have regained traction that could see the Croatia international leave the Etihad Stadium despite only beginning his tenure in north-west England in 2023. 

Gvardiol is currently part of an extended list of transfer targets for Los Blancos, the same directory that his City teammate Marc Guehi was penned on before he joined forces with Pep Guardiola in January.

Other Madrid defensive targets included Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate but it is understood that the opportunity to sign the duo has expired, leading Real towards Gvardiol. 

With that, Spanish outlet Diario AS have reported that earlier this month, Real Madrid held talks with Gvardiol’s representatives and that the defender has offered himself to the Spanish giants in the event that an exit from City transpires. 

The 24-year-old has two years remaining on his current deal in Manchester and while a renewed contract is understood to be far away, his representatives have started to consider other pathways.

Gvardiol joined City from RB Leipzig, having scored against his current team in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg in the 2022-23 season. 

After catching the eye of Guardiola, the defender was shifted from a centre-back to a left-back and has since become one of the best in his position across Europe.

Guardiola’s suffocating and attacking football helped Gvardiol become pivotal in the closing stages of the 2023-24 season, when City became the first team in English football to win four Premier League titles in a row.

Gvardiol scored four times in five games for the Blues between April and May 2024, while garnering four assists in that period.

His influence since hasn’t shifted. Last season, Gvardiol only missed one game – Liverpool away – when he was an unused substitute and played in every other Premier League match of a topsy-turvy 2024-25 season, starting 36 of the 37 available to him. 

Although a tibial fracture caused him to miss the first five months of 2026, the Croatian returned to the matchday squad against Crystal Palace last week, when he played 58 minutes before being substituted.