Manchester City footballer Joško Gvardiol drives a very different car to your typical Premier League footballer's Ferrari or Lamborghini

Manchester City player and Croatia international Joško Gvardiol went viral after showing up to the training center with a very unusual vehicle.

Most players go for the flashy, expensive option.

But not Joško Gvardiol.

The 24-year-old showed up with something else entirely.

Soccer stars are getting really good at the celebrity thing

The art of being a star off the pitch as well as on the pitch was pioneered by David Beckham.

Then, through the years, several soccer icons perfected it in various ways.

Cristiano Ronaldo with his looks and perfect physique, Zlatan Ibrahimović with his braggadocious persona that fans (especially in the US) love, and more recently (newly-appointed) France captain Jules Koundé (below), who went viral with his ‘tunnel fits.’

In 2026, virtually any soccer star can build a brand – no matter how good they are on pitch.

Manchester City and Croatia defender Joško Gvardiol certainly has what it takes.

He doesn’t model, he doesn’t brag about his fits, but he has something else that people who are into celebrities love: a nice taste in cars.

Joško Gvardiol knows what he’s doing

Most soccer stars – and let’s face it, most celebrities in general – seem to buy whatever makes them look rich.

When fans and media people ‘camp’ outside training centers waiting for the stars to arrive, it’s always a dull compilation of Ferraris, Porsches, Lambos, the inevitable G-Wagens, and Range Rovers.

These are all great cars, but they make the players look like they bought these cars selecting from the ‘How to make sure people know I’m rich 101’ catalog.

For Gvardiol, things are different.

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Gvardiol was recently spotted arriving at Etihad Campus – where Manchester City players train – driving what appears to a Mk IV6 Mitsubishi Lancer EVO.

Not only that, the car even comes with a rally-friendly livery and the iconic Tommi Mäkinen-style rally graphics.

Priceless.

It must be a Croatian thing

Until not long ago, the small Balkan-Mediterranean country wasn’t exactly the automotive capital of the world, but then a young engineer called Mate Rimac came along and changed that.

Rimac was born back when ‘it was all Yugoslavia’ around those parts, which means the town where he was born, near the border with Croatia, is now part of Bosnia.

But he is a Croatian national and today, thanks to him, two of the world’s most prominent car brands – Bugatti and Rimac – are based in Croatia.

Rimac (the company) is also launching its own fleet of robotaxis, which could end up being the first in Europe.

And just like Gvardiol, who’s also Croatian, Rimac knows his cars.

He owns a Mk4 Golf R32, a couple of vintage BMW and the list goes on.

It’s great to see millionaires and billionaires spending money interestingly, rather than sort of blindly, for once.