Graeme Souness has voiced sympathy for Tottenham Hotspur target Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig. He claims Lionel Messi ‘made your eyes water’ after embarrassing the Croatia ace.
Messi left Gvardiol dumbfounded as Argentina dumped Croatia out of the 2022 World Cup in the semi-finals. The Albiceleste icon blitzed past the centre-half to assist Julian Alvarez to make it 3-0. Before that, Gvardiol had been one of the best defenders to feature in Qatar.
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Yet Gvardiol is just 20 years old but led Croatia’s efforts at the back as Vatreni bid to reach successive World Cup finals. The Zagreb native played every minute of Zlatko Dalic’s side’s run to the semi-finals. Croatia will take on Morocco in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
Dalic will have adored how Gvardiol has snatched possession and launched Croatia into a flurry of counter-attacking moves. The Vatreni boss will also feel there was not much more the RB Leipzig defender could have tried to stop Messi other than foul the Argentina icon.
Gvardiol did everything by the book to try and stop Messi. The defender shielded the Paris Saint-Germain forward to the touchline but one quick drop of the shoulder saw Messi spin in behind Gvardiol. From there, a short burst saw Messi lay the ball on a plate for Alvarez.
Lionel Messi ‘made your eyes water’ embarrassing Josko Gvardiol
Souness feels sorry for Gvardiol after watching Messi spin the Croatia defender in a latest moment of magic from the 5 ft 6 dynamo. He also claims Tottenham target Gvardiol would have felt confident he could stop the Argentina legend before Messi dumped Croatia out.
“What Messi did to Croatia’s Josko Gvardiol the other night made your eyes water for that young defender. Dear me,” Souness wrote in his column for the Daily Mail. “Any defender in the situation that Gvardiol was in, as he faced up to Messi, would be perfectly confident.
“You’ve got Messi facing away from your goal, you’ve got him in your line of sight, you’ve got him where you want him – you’re comfortable.
“But then, in the blink of an eye, the whole picture changes and a brain better than any I’ve ever witnessed has scrambled the head of that young defender. You’ve not got him, he’s past you. He’s not on the right side of you, he’s in front of you.”
Tottenham are among the many clubs eying a transfer for Josko Gvardiol
Tottenham are among the many clubs now eying a transfer for Gvardiol after his stunning World Cup campaign with Croatia. TuttoMercatoWEB reports Ivan Perisic has even tried to sell a move to Spurs to his compatriot while in Qatar after moving to north London in June.
A transfer to Tottenham will not be until the summer of 2023, though. Spurs also face a lot of competition for Gvardiol. The Telegraph cites Chelsea with an interest in the RB Leipzig ace. While Alfredo Pedulla says Manchester City are willing to pay €130m (£113m) for him.
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