Erling Haaland credits ‘special’ Manchester City figure as reason behind joining Etihad club

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has credited the coaching and guidance of Pep Guardiola as the reason behind opting to join the Etihad Stadium project.

Haaland and Manchester City signed paperwork over a deal in the summer of 2022, rejecting lingering interest from a number of European super clubs including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and FC Barcelona.

Erling Haaland’s first season could not have gotten off to a better start, as the Norwegian broke almost every record available in his debut campaign, crowning the personal accolades with a Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League success.

But it wasn’t just the arguable guarantee of silverware success that ensured Manchester City would become Erling Haaland’s go-to choice of club following his time with Borussia Dortmund, the player himself has revealed this week.

Speaking to Manchester City’s official club website, Erling Haaland has admitted that the opportunity to work and develop under manager Pep Guardiola was the reason behind choosing to join the Etihad Stadium club.

“It’s fantastic. The way he looks at football and the way he works every day is truly something special,” said Haaland. “I really enjoy working with him and experiencing every single day. The way he thinks about football is completely different and he is fantastic to work with every single day.”

The Norway international continued in his praise by stating, “If you look at what he has been doing since he came here, it’s incredible. The way he has developed football is unreal and that was also one of the main reasons why I wanted to come here. 

“I wanted to work with him and develop as a footballer with him.”

Despite a two-month lay-off with a bone stress fracture in his foot earlier this season, Erling Haaland’s individual statistics over the course of the ongoing campaign have remained impressive, whilst being lower than last season’s figures.

Across the 23-year-old’s 33 appearances across all competitions for Manchester City so far this season, the centre-forward has scored 29 goals and provided a further six assists, with six goals and one assist coming in his seven Champions League appearances.