Guardiola issues defiant response to Real Madrid over Haaland transfer links

05 February 2024 , 06:00

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Pep Guardiola is keen for Erling Haaland to remain with Manchester City for years to come (Image: Getty Images)

Pep Guardiola has warned Real Madrid to forget about signing Erling Haaland - as Manchester City want to keep him for the next decade.

Real Madrid are planning a whopping £170m summer move for goal-scoring sensation Haaland if French superstar Kylian Mbappe doesn't join them from Paris Saint Germain.

Haaland's agent Rafaela Pimenta has previously hinted the Norwegian international could move on before the end of his contract at the Etihad, which expires in 2027. However, Guardiola insists that City are determined to keep hold of their star striker for a long time to come.

He said: "What do you think? That we don't want Erling to stay here for one decade? We want him to stay for a long, long time at this club. We are in love with him.

"But I'm not involved in that. It's always about the desire of the player and the club - does he stay, does he want to leave?" Guardiola continued: "He arrived last season and his impact was incredible, also at the beginning of this season. Then he was injured for two months. What happens in the future, honestly I don't know, but we're happy to have him.

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"Hopefully he's happy to be with us. The rest, I don't know. We can't control what people say, so it's normal."

City are preparing to open fresh contract talks about a new deal with Haaland, who scored 53 goals in their Treble-winning campaign last season. The 23-year-old has continued in a similar vein of form this season, currently sitting joint top of the Premier League scoring charts with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah on 14.

Guardiola added: "It's going to happen when Erling decides to extend the contract or not. When the club decides to extend the contract or not, or when we have potential offers for him or not. If someone wants Erling it's easy - call Manchester City and ask.

"That's what we do when we want to sign someone. It's not complicated. I know from my chairman, sporting director, CEO and other people that we want to keep our best players.

"To be there (at the top), we need good players. We're not going to win games just because I'm sitting here as manager and we've had success in the past. We can't do that without good players. We need good players, that's the secret of our success.

"There are many reasons, but that's is the main one - having exceptional players."

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Darren Wells