Man City transfer target breaks silence after Lionel Messi World Cup masterclass

Josko Gvardiol has hailed Lionel Messi as a “completely different player” to any of the opponents he’s faced in his career.

The Argentina star helped seal a 3-0 World Cup semi-final win over Gvardiol’s Croatia with a glorious in assist in which Messi skilfully beat the defender to tee up Julian Alvarez.

Heading into the final four, RB Leipzig star Gvardiol had been hailed as one of the stars of the tournament.

A rising star in European football, Chelsea and Manchester City are both keen on a move for the 20-year-old, while Real Madrid have been linked with a £78m move.

Still, even one of the most highly rated defenders on the continent could prove no match for Messi, who drove up the right flank and twisted his marker inside out before rolling the ball to Alvarez for a simple tap in.

The Croatian defence had been breached only three times heading into Tuesday’s semi-final but another talismanic performance from Messi, the tournament’s top scorer, saw the 2018 finalists condemned to Saturday’s third-place playoff against Morocco.

Of the game, Gvardiol said: “It was a nice experience even though I played against him in the club last season.

“He is a completely different type of player in the club and in the national team.

“I am glad that I played against him even though we lost.

“But today and tomorrow I will be able to tell the children that I guarded Messi for 90 minutes. I guess we will beat him next time.”