Pep Guardiola articulates Manchester City’s profound appreciation for Erling Haaland, expressing a great desire to have him as a member of the team for a decade.
The return of the Norwegian forward, after a two-month absence caused by a foot issue, has reignited conjecture linking him to Real Madrid.
Attracting attention from prominent Spanish clubs Pep Guardiola asserts that Manchester City aspires to retain Erling Haaland for an extended duration, despite the considerable attention surrounding Real Madrid’s interest in the player.Credit: Getty Negotiations on a new agreement with the team that has won three major titles have not yet yielded any formal outcome.According to reports, Haaland, a 23-year-old football player, is rumoured to have a dislike for residing in Manchester, as per sources in Spain.
But boss Guardiola said: “What do you think, we don’t want Erling to stay here for one decade? Honestly. Yes, we want him to stay for a long time in this club. We are in love with him.
“First, it’s an honour the important clubs want our players but in the end the players decide.
“But, of course, we want to keep our best players. We need good players.”
Haaland was born in Leeds while his dad Alfie was playing for the Whites.
Despite the reports from Spain, Haaland gave an interview to City last week in which he spoke about how settled he feels in Manchester.
Asked what he liked most about life in the North West, he said: “I’m a football guy, for me it’s easy for my family to come over, right over the sea, really close.
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“I like the vibes, the positivity from the fans when I meet them. The banter. Also, the English people in general.
“I love to joke like them — we are similar in Norway, we like the banter.“People see us on the streets, United fans, we joke with each other.”
Haaland banged in a record 52 goals in all competitions last term — his debut season for City.
He added: “The first season for me, it was the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup.
“We came back to pre-season and it was like, ‘Are we back already?’
“It’s taken a couple of months to digest it.
“I want to recreate some of the things we did last season.”
