Manchester City are thinking of ‘breaking the bank’ for RB Leipzig and Croatia star Josko Gvardiol to beat the competition to his signature.
That’s according to journalist Alfredo Pedulla, who says City have already contacted the German side with a €130m proposal.
He explains that Chelsea were initially the first to move for Gvardiol before Real Madrid came into the picture, offering €90m and a €6m a season contract.
Manchester City have always been in the middle of the pack but the moves from their rivals appear to have spurred them into action and thus they contacted Leipzig.
On the table is a deal worth €130m including bonuses that could include a percentage on any future sale. That percentage would further increase the cost of the deal.
Leipzig were resistant to any deals for the defender, but such anoffer cannot be ignored and so their plans have now changed.
Pedulla says Manchester City are in a ‘tight contract’ with Leipzig, who want to close the deal after the World Cup and potentially keep Gvardiol until the end of the season.
City are also offering double what Real Madrid presented to the player in terms of wages, proposing a deal worth €11-12m per season.
They are ready to ‘raid’ Leipzig for the player in the same way they moved for Erling Haaland, considering the defender an ‘investment in quality for the future’. Like with the striker, they are willing to make a ‘monstrous’ bid to win the race for his signature.
Faced with figures such as the ones being proposed, Real Madrid know they have no chance of winning the race as even someone like Luka Modric, who is his teammate for Croatia, can make up such a gap and convince him to move to the Bernabeu.
Manchester City have instead used the ‘power of money’ to put themselves at the front of the queue and if they ‘decide to go all the way’ there is seemingly no way of stopping them.