Guardiola hails ‘exceptional’ Haaland amid transfer talk

Erling Haaland

Pep Guardiola praised “exceptional” Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland as he admitted Manchester City could spend the kind of money required to sign a player of his calibre. City are one of several top clubs linked with a blockbuster move for Haaland in the close-season. The 20-year-old Norwegian is the talk of Europe after scoring 33 goals in 32 games this season, while becoming the youngest player to reach 20 career goals in the Champions League. Already well aware of Haaland’s quality, City boss Guardiola has a chance to take a closer look when Dortmund visit the Etihad Stadium for the Champions League quarter-final first leg today. “He’s exceptional for his age. The numbers speak for themselves,” Guardiola told reporters yesterday. “He can score right, left, counter attacks, in the box, headers. He’s a fantastic striker, everyone knows it. He’s only 20. To score that many goals at this age, it’s not easy to find a player like that. A blind guy can realise he’s a good striker, it’s not necessary to be a manager.” The runaway Premier League leaders will need a new forward next season after announcing their record goalscorer Sergio Aguero is set to leave at the end of this term. Guardiola recently suggested the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic would make it difficult for his team to meet Dortmund’s reported £130mn ($180mn) asking price for Haaland. But Guardiola dropped a hint that a bid for Haaland would not be impossible as he suggested City would eventually break their transfer record — currently the £62mn they spent on Benfica defender Ruben Dias last year. “So far, the club has decided not to spend close to £100mn for a player,” Guardiola said. “Maybe in the future it will happen when the club decides it is necessary to improve the team for the next five to 10 years. The organisation has so far decided not to and that is why we haven’t. Maybe in the future. Spending a lot of money on one player doesn’t give you an advantage to win. Football is a team game, everyone makes a contribution. Competitions are not won by one player, it is every player.” Guardiola said Dortmund invest heavily in the future of their squad and pay agents huge sums to bring in top young talent. Other than Haaland, Dortmund have recruited some of Europe’s best youngsters such as striker Jadon Sancho from Manchester City and midfielder Jude Bellingham from Birmingham City. “If any one person in the city of Manchester knows Borussia Dortmund, it’s me,” Guardiola said. “About the culture of that club, the way they play. I will not find one single player at Dortmund without quality. They spent a lot of money on young players and pay a lot of money to agents to bring these players there because they have an incredible quality.” Although Dortmund are struggling in the Bundesliga, Haaland’s presence means they could pose a significant threat to City’s quadruple bid. With a third Premier League title in four years a formality for City — who are in the League Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals — it is the Champions League that will be their focus in the final weeks of the campaign. City have never won Europe’s elite club competition and Guardiola last tasted Champions League glory when he was Barcelona boss in 2011. Criticised for failing to win the Champions League without Barca star Lionel Messi, Guardiola has seen City eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the tournament for the last three years. The Spaniard admitted last season’s shock last eight defeat against Lyon in Lisbon was especially tough to take. “Of course, it remained in my head for weeks and it was painful, I cannot deny,” Guardiola said. “It was the last game of the season, we wanted to go through and we accept we didn’t do it well, didn’t deserve to go through. Going out to Lyon, it was different.”