We want Erling Haaland at Man City for the next decade – we are in love with him
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has expressed his love for goal machine Erling Haaland, who has been linked with a summer switch to Real Madrid
Pep Guardiola has told Real Madrid to forget about signing Erling Haaland – because Manchester City want to keep him for a decade.
Real are plotting a stunning £170million summer swoop for scoring sensation Haaland. The Spanish giants will turn to Haaland if French ace Kylian Mbappe doesn’t join them from Paris Saint-Germain.
But Guardiola insists City are determined to keep hold of star striker Haaland for a long time. Guardiola, whose side travel to Brentford tomorrow (February 5), said: “What do you think?“That we don’t want Erling to stay here for one decade? We want him to stay for a long, long time at this club. We are in love with him. But I’m not involved in that.
“It’s always about the desire of the player and the club – does he stay, does he want to leave? He arrived last season and his impact was incredible, also at the beginning of this season. Then he was injured for two months.
“What happens in the future, honestly I don’t know, but we’re happy to have him. Hopefully he’s happy to be with us. The rest, I don’t know. We can’t control what people say, so it’s normal.”
Pep Guardiola made clear just how loved Erling Haaland is at Man City
Haaland signed a five-year deal with City after joining them from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for £55m. But City are prepared to open contract talks with Haaland about a new deal, in the wake of his goal scoring heroics.
Haaland plundered 53 goals last season to help City win the Treble. Guardiola said: “It’s going to happen when Erling decides to extend the contract or not.
“When the club decides to extent the contract or not, or when we have potential offers for him or not. If someone wants Erling it’s easy – call Manchester City and ask.
Haaland has been linked with a summer switch to Real Madrid
“That’s what we do when we want to sign someone. It’s not complicated. I know from my chairman, sporting director, CEO and other people that we want to keep our best players.
“To be there [at the top], we need good players. We’re not going to win games just because I’m sitting here as manager and we’ve had success in the past.
“We can’t do that without good players. We need good players, that’s the secret of our success. There are many reasons, but that’s is the main one – having exceptional players.”