'World's best' Gvardiol admires Messi but has Bertrand shirt on his wall

Man City are in advanced talks over a package worth £77million for the Croatian international, talkSPORT understands.

Pep Guardiola's top summer target was the 21-year-old defender who has a reputation as one of the most highly-rated young players in world football.

And it would appear to be a perfect match, with Gvardiol already connected to Guardiola due to his nickname.

The Croatian has been known as 'Pep' or 'Little Pep' by his teammates due to the similarities between their surnames.

The similarities don't stop there though with the Man City boss often called the best manager in the world while Gvardiol was once labelled the 'best defender in the world'.

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Fans may have first heard of the centre-back when he starred for Croatia at the 2022 World Cup as he showed his outstanding ability to fans all over the globe.

His national manager Zlatko Dalic sang his praises throughout the whole tournament but especially after his side reached the knockout stages.

Speaking to the media, Dalic said: "Gvardiol is the best centre back in the world. To play this maturely, it's amazing. The way he plays, with what elegance he carries the ball."

Gvardiol stands at 6' 1 and uses his superior strength to his advantage while also being confident on the ball, being able to bring it out from the back and find a teammate.

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That elegance and maturity that Dalic mentioned has led to comparisons with Virgil van Dijk and the Liverpool defender is, in fact, the player he looks up to.

And he is likely to have got his ability on the ball from watching one of the greatest players of all time in Lionel Messi.

"As a kid, I admired Lionel Messi, but now I am increasingly watching the players in my position. And today Virgil Van Dijk is the best." Gvardiol told 24sata.

Van Dijk and Messi seem to have made an impact on Gvardiol's play style which has in turn brought him to the position he is in today.

However, neither of them have made it onto the Croatian's bedroom wall where he has been reported to have three shirts hanging up.

And not a single fan would have been able to guess who made the cut instead…

Ryan Bertrand.

Gvardiol bizarrely has a signed Bertrand shirt up on display alongside a Croatia shirt and a Benfica shirt which is signed by his national teammate Filip Krovinovic.

Unsurprisingly, he doesn't have the former Chelsea, Southampton and Leicester defender's kit on show as he admires him.

He instead received the shirt from Bertrand's agent who wanted to sign Gvardiol too but decided against it and sent the signed shirt as an apology.

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The agent must be regretting his decision now as Gvardiol gears up for a potentially record-breaking move to the Premier League.

And a link-up with Guardiola looks to be on the cards as Man City aim to refresh their treble-winning squad with one of the world's best young talents.