Nottingham Forest and former Manchester United man labels Manchester City defender as “dead player”

Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol has been subject to a bizarre TikTok outburst by current Nottingham Forest and former Manchester United player Anthony Elanga.

The 22-year-old defender completed a €90 million move to the Etihad Stadium from RB Leipzig during the summer transfer window, moving to Manchester City alongside international teammate Mateo Kovacic.

Gvardiol quickly rose to prominence in the Bundesliga, winning the DFB Pokal back-to-back with RB Leipzig, and netting against both Real Madrid and Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League last season.

The Croatian also starred at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, being described as the “best centre-back in the world” by manager Zlatko Dalic following a 0-0 draw with Belgium during the Group Stages.

The defender has impressed at Manchester City since moving to the Premier League, making 25 appearances for Pep Guardiola, although regularly playing at left-back as opposed to a more natural centre-back role.

Gvardiol has already won the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup with the Sky Blues, and has started 14 of Manchester City’s 20 Premier League matches.

The 22-year-old started during a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in September at the Etihad Stadium, with City defending valiantly throughout the second-half following the dismissal of Rodri for violent conduct.

Despite a stellar start to life in England, the Croat has been subject to a bizarre outburst on social media platform TikTok, where former Manchester United player Anthony Elanga described Gvardiol as a “dead player” on Nottingham Forest’s official account.

The comment was made during a ‘football ranking’ video, where Elanga had to rank a number of different players.

Elanga, who moved to Nottingham Forest for £15 million in July, also rated current Manchester City and England star John Stones as 7th, before placing Joao Cancelo in 2nd place.

Manchester City are due to travel to the City Ground on Saturday 27th April, with the Blues having dropped points away to Nottingham Forest last season.