Gvardiol was targeted by Chelsea last summer but were unable to sign him with RB Leipzig demanding upwards of £80million for the centre-back.
The 20-year-old’s stock has only risen since then though, thanks in large to an amazing showing at Qatar 2022, where he played a vital role in Croatia’s run to third-place.
Leipzig are now said to value him at £110m, and it seems that Real Madrid are now the favourites to sign him, given that Chelsea have decided to pursue over targets instead.
Last summer, the Blues splashed the cash on Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly and just recently spent another £33m on Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile.
This would seem to have ended their links to Gvardiol, though the player has seemed to suggest that he is still open to a move to Stamford Bridge.
‘They [Chelsea] did not give up, but it was agreed [with Leipzig] that we would go for the winter,’ he told RTL Danas in Croatia.
‘Winter has come, so we need to see what and how to proceed, but it’s okay, there’s still plenty of time, we’ll see.
‘I’m not in a hurry. I’m in Leipzig, we still have six months to finish the season properly and to win something. And then we will look further to the future.’
Gvardiol signed a new contract with the Bundesliga club just last September that runs until 2027.
Liverpool have also been tenuously linked with him, especially after losing Virgil van Dijk to injury, and Gvardiol has hinted that he would be interested in moving to Anfield.
When asked which team he supported growing up, the defender said: ‘That would definitely be Liverpool.
‘Since I was little, I watched a lot of Liverpool matches with my dad and we covered every season in detail. It is a club that has remained in my heart.’
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