Josko Gvardiol received the ultimate compliment from Gary Neville as he won the Premier League for the first time.
The Croatia international clinched the title in his first season with Manchester City following his £77.6million arrival last summer, with a 3-1 victory over West Ham at the Etihad on Sunday (May 19) all they needed to triumph over challengers Arsenal.
Gvardiol, 22, has been in impressive form for the champions in recent months as he'd grown to become a hugely important player for Pep Guardiola at the business end of the season, having played 90 minutes in nine of City's last 10 league games.
During the clash against the Hammers, in which City took an early lead through Phil Foden's opener in the second minute, Neville said of Gvardiol: "He’s been turning into Maldini these last few months, sliding passes through and all sorts."
Despite his status as a defender, the ex-Leipzig star has become a surprising facet of City's attacking game. He bagged four goals in their last seven league games, including a career-first brace in the 4-0 win over Fulham earlier this month.
He ended his debut campaign in Manchester with five goals and three assists in all competitions, which are certainly impressive numbers for a player who's played a majority of the season at left-back.
Following what was a sixth Premier League triumph overall for Guardiola, the Spaniard had to fight back tears in the post-match press conference.
He responded to Jurgen Klopp's kind words where he described Guardiola as the "best manager in the world" during his emotional farewell speech at Anfield in the aftermath of Liverpool's 2-0 win against Wolves.
"I will miss him a lot. Jurgen has been a really important part of my life," an emotional Guardiola said. "He brought me to another level as a manager. I think we respect each other incredibly. I have the feeling he will be back.
"I just want to say thank you so much for his words but he knows personally that behind me there is a lot of things this club has provided and given to me."
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