Pep Guardiola on Erling Haaland: “Maybe the media in Spain, especially Madrid, have more information than us”

Manchester City take on Brentford in the Premier League on Monday and head coach Pep Guardiola discussed several subjects ahead of the upcoming match.

Five points separate Liverpool and City at the top of the table, but Guardiola’s men have a game in hand and the Catalan tactician will have a full squad to choose from again with Erling Haaland ready to start after coming on in the club’s 3-1 victory over Burnley in midweek.

Importance of Haaland

The former Barcelona boss says he just had to see the reaction of the City players when Haaland was sent on against the Clarets to know how key he is to everything.

“I don’t know if you saw the Burnley game, but he played 30 minutes and in every transition and every pass, all the players looked for him, so they know how important he is,” said Guardiola.

“We try to keep all of the strikers happy, especially him. It depends how we play. If we are comfortable he will get a lot of balls, and after that he will do the rest.”

Madrid reports

Guardiola was questioned about Haaland’s reported intention to join Spanish giants Real Madrid.

“I don’t know, you have to ask the media from Madrid if [Haaland’s camp] are happy. Maybe they have more info than we have,” he added.

“I, we, don’t have that feeling he’s unhappy. He was because he didn’t play for two months, injured. But maybe the media from Spain, especially Madrid, have more information than us.

“You cannot say he didn’t adapt quickly or he was not fine since he arrived [given] the level he showed since day one.

“We can’t control what you [the media] say or the people say. If he’s happy or not happy, he will take his decision.”

Haaland - who was City’s top scorer in their historic treble-winning campaign last season - has a contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2027. In 2023-24, the 23-year-old has already scored 19 goals in all competitions despite missing almost two months through injury.