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Anthony Elanga seemingly appeared to label Josko Gvardiol as a 'dead player' - but Manchester City fans think they know why he made the supposed dig.
The Nottingham Forest forward made the remark when he was asked to rank ten random players from best to worst.
Elanga made a sly dig aimed at Gvardiol when he ranked ten random footballersCredit: TikTok @officialnffcAnd he chose to make the insult at versatile defender Gvardiol, who linked up at the Etihad last summer from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £77million.
When the Croatian's face popped up during his TikTok, Elanga appeared to quietly say, 'Dead player', under his breath, before ranking him in tenth spot.
Though the 21-year-old's apparent jibe may be due to his loyalties to Manchester United, who he came through the youth ranks at before swapping Old Trafford for the City Ground in July 2023.
However, some City supporters believe his comment was out of spite following their meeting against each other in September.
A clip of Gvardiol barging the Swedish winger to the ground has since gone viral, with Elanga sent flying towards the advertising hoardings.
And Citizens fans have used this to mock Elanga, as one social media user said: "He got flashbacks when he saw Gvardiol."
Another remarked: "Gvardiol probably doesn't even know his name, but he's beefing with him cuz he got bodied."
A third added: "The same United reject Gvardiol sent into the billboards?"
City fans believe Elanga's previous meeting against Gvardiol is the reason for his remarkCredit: TikTok @mancity Gvardiol barged the Forest forward to the ground with a mean shoulder bargeCredit: TikTok @mancityThis fan then commented: "Bro got bodied by him."
Meanwhile another replied with the video of Gvardiol outmuscling Elanga, where he simply stated: "The audacity. You're not that guy."
Despite being a natural centre-half, Gvardiol has predominantly featured as a left-back under Pep Guardiola this season.
From his 16 Premier League appearances, he has been deployed as a full-back on 12 occasions.
Gvardiol has impressed when he has been called upon this season