Pep Guardiola has reaffirmed that Erling Haaland is happy at Manchester City amidst interest from Real Madrid
As reported by Goal, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that star striker Erling Haaland is happy at the Etihad amid rumours of interest from European champions Real Madrid.
The Norwegian made his much-publicised move to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund and has hit the ground running despite a largely underwhelming debut. The performance in the Community Shield was a massive smokescreen of sorts and opposition defences appear to have been given a false sense of security.
With 19 goals and three assists in 12 games across all competitions, Haaland’s form is nigh on prolific. He does not appear to show any signs of slowing down and could smash goalscoring records in his very first season in England. More so, with Norway failing to qualify for the World Cup, he will also be afforded a mid-season break of sorts and could come back stronger for the second half of the campaign.
There were rumours of the player having a clause in his deal that would let him leave for the Santiago Bernabeu for €200 million in the summer of 2024. It did not help matters that his father, Alf-Inge Haaland has also talked about his son staying with the Sky Blues for three or four years.
Pep Guardiola denies rumours of a specific clause for Haaland to join Real Madrid in 2 years: “There’s no specific clause for Erling Haaland to join Real Madrid, it’s not true”. 🚨🇳🇴 #MCFC
“I have the feeling he is incredibly happy at Man City”. pic.twitter.com/jgLlZhit1d
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 5, 2022
Goal had earlier confirmed that the player does not have a release clause in his contract at the Etihad. And Pep Guardiola has now confirmed the same but also gave his take on the matter and gone on to add that the 22-year-old is happy where he is.
“It is not true. He does not have a release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. Rumours, people talk. We have to be worried about what we can control. I have the feeling he is very happy here and we will try to make people happy here. He is settled perfectly, incredibly beloved.”
If Haaland continues to put up the same numbers, the chances of other clubs being interested in his services will not die down, with Real Madrid already setting their sights on him. However, he is already in a team that can compete for the biggest trophies on all fronts. More so, he is managed by arguably the best manager in the world.
Manchester City failed to replace Sergio Aguero in 2021 and that saw them struggle at times in the 2021/22 campaign. A year on, they have not just replaced the legendary Argentine but also upgraded on him in Haaland. In the Norwegian, they now have a player who can lead them to the elusive UEFA Champions League trophy.