Overview
- Multiple outlets in mid-June report Manchester City are close to agreeing an improved long-term extension with Joško Gvardiol, with terms variously described as running to 2031 or at least 2032 and including a pay rise.
- Those reports say City feel optimistic the deal will be completed before the new season, which would make immediate bids from Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich far less likely.
- Director of football Hugo Viana has made Gvardiol’s renewal a top priority as incoming manager Enzo Maresca plans the club’s defence, and the new contract would replace Gvardiol’s previous deal that ran to 2028.
- Gvardiol has told Croatian media he is happy at City and will reassess his future after the World Cup, a position that the club’s confidence and the reported offer appear to have reinforced.
- If finalised, the extension would reshape the summer market for elite defenders, weaken Barcelona’s short-term options and give City continuity while they manage other defensive decisions such as Ruben Dias’s future.