Fans were awed by Norwegianattacker Erling Haaland’s unusual hairstyle during training. Prior to the big game, Haaland was spotted sporting a new braided look. With his two goals against Southampton over the weekend, Haaland has now scored 30 Premier League goals.
Although it’s unclear if he’ll wear the same braids for the Champions League quarterfinal match, it was undoubtedly a departure from his typical hairdo.
On Saturday against Southampton, fans were adamant the Norwegian should sign with a shampoo company after he let down his locks to unveil a majestic look as he made his way down the tunnel.
Erling Haaland's new hair style today in Man City training ahead Bayern Munich Champions League Quarter-Final pic.twitter.com/3PG1sRQDzW
Erling Haaland, a “scary” Manchester City striker who is edging closer to breaking the legendary Newcastle United forward’s Premier League record, can score 60 goals this season, according to Alan Shearer.
In his first season at City, Haaland scored twice in the victory over Southampton on Saturday, bringing his season total across all competitions to 44 goals in 38 appearances.
These are 13 more goals than the next-highest scorer among players in the top five leagues in Europe, Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain, who has 31 goals in 35 appearances.
Thirty of Haaland’s goals have come in the Premier League, leaving him just four short of matching Shearer’s record of 34 in a season, which he jointly holds with Andy Cole.
Shearer expects Haaland to surpass that target with time to spare and, with potentially 16 more games to play in all competitions, he believes a bigger milestone is attainable.
“If he can stay fit, Haaland will obliterate thePremier League record I share with Andy Cole of 34 goals in a single season,” Shearer said in his column for The Athletic.
“At his current rate of averages in all competitions, with 44 in 38 appearances, he will storm past 50. Even that may be a disservice to him.
“Who knows, we could even be talking 60 and Dixie Dean territory. Scary.”
Haaland reached 30 Premier League goals in 27 games, doing so in five matches fewer than any other player in the competition’s history.
Only eight players in the English top flight – most recently Jimmy Greaves in 1961 – have scored more than 40 goals in a single league season.
“I wonder how many people thought it was hyperbole when I wrote nearly a year ago that Erling Haaland would score 40 goals in this Manchester City team?” Shearer said.
“City were buying goals – as close as you can get to an absolute, cast-iron guarantee – by adding an exceptional centre-forward to a phenomenally creative side.
“If anything, I was being stingy. Exceptional? He’s almost perfect and that haul of 40 is already in his rearview mirror.”
Haaland’s next opportunity to add to his growing haul will come on Tuesday when City host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.
The former Borussia Dortmund man has 33 goals in 25 games in the competition, which is also a record for the quickest time to surpass the 30-goal mark in the Champions League.
That was quickly cancelled out when Kevin De Bruyne drew a penalty, allowing Haaland’s substitute Julian Alvarez to share the glory as he fired in the spot-kick.
One of Haaland’s 28 goalsgoing into Saturday’s contest came in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in October against a Saints side then managed by Ralph Hasenhuttl.
Two managers later, and with the sides separated by 41 points, Ruben Selles’ men looked to get something started early on a sunny south coast evening when Carlos Alcaraz took possession at the right of the area but found himself without a viable option at the far post as he sent the ball across the face of goal.
City tested Gavin Bazunu inside the first five minutes, Ilkay Gundogan finding Grealish who forced a good save out of the Saints shot-stopper with a drive from 15 yards out.
The visitors were on the brink of danger when an alert Kamaldeen Sulemana intercepted De Bruyne’s short corner inside his own half and broke free with Nathan Ake in hot pursuit.
Karim Benzema has scored back-to-back hat-tricks for Real Madrid, and Carlo Ancelotti thinks that he can win another Ballon d’Or.
After scoring three goals in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal against Barcelona last Wednesday, Benzema added three more goals in this week’s 6-0 LaLiga victory over Real Valladolid.
In a Madrid career spanning 14 trophy-laden seasons, it is the first time the former France international has scored consecutive hat-tricks.
Having won the Ballon d’Or for the first time in 2022 on the back of a superb year for Los Blancos, Ancelotti has backed Benzema to challenge for the individual accolade again.
“Why not?” Ancelotti said following his side’s 4-1 aggregate victory against Barcelona. “He remains one of the best players in the world – and not just attacking players.”
Benzema now has 25 goals in 31 appearances this season – a tally bettered by Robert Lewandowski (27), Marcus Rashford (28), Kylian Mbappe (31) and Erling Haaland (42).
That includes 19 goals in 19 games since the World Cup, while the 35-year-old’s back-to-back hat-tricks have come straight on the back of the international break.
“The work he did during the international break helped him a lot,”Ancelotti said of Benzema, who announced his latest retirement from France duty in December.
“He is in prime physical condition. With the qualities he has, he inevitably makes a difference for us.”
Real Madrid will face Osasuna, who beat Athletic Bilbao, in the Copa del Rey final on May 6.
Erling Haaland, who missed Saturday’s 4-1 Premier League victory against Liverpool, is back in training with Manchester City.
After suffering a groyne injury just before the international break, the forward was forced to leave his assignment with Norway last month.
Ahead of City’s return to action against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds last week, Pep Guardiola was non-committal on whether Haaland would feature.
Now, in a boost as they look to keep pace withArsenal at the summit, the striker is back on the training pitch ahead of this weekend’s trip to Southampton.
Erling Haaland is still recovering from a groyne injury, and according to Pep Guardiola, a decision will be made about his readiness for this weekend later on Friday.
Haaland has had a sensational debut campaign with Manchester City, tallying 42 goals across all competitions, easily the most of any player in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, an injury that prevented the forward from joining up with Norway set him back going into the international break.
Despite Guardiola’s desire to take his time with that decision, City is hopeful that Haaland will be available for Saturday’s crucial match against Liverpool.
“Erling is recovering,” the manager said. “We have the last training session and we will see how he feels.”
Guardiola, who added Phil Foden would be out for “two or three weeks” following appendix surgery, was asked if he would risk Haaland if he was not convinced he was fully fit.
The City boss was happy to trust the 22-year-old’s judgement, but he is also confident his side would cope without their superstar striker.
In thePremier League, Haaland has scored 28 goals, making up 42 per cent of City’s total this term and earning 20 points. All three are high marks for a City player in a single season.
“The doctors and especially the players will decide,” Guardiola said. “How does he feel? Yesterday I spoke with him and he feels good. But we will see, we will see what happens.
“We have scored a lot of goals this season, and he’s scored an incredible amount of goals, but in the past we also scored a lot of goals.
“Since we were here, and with Roberto Mancini and [Manuel] Pellegrini, always Man City was a team that scored a lot of goals in the season – with different players, different strikers.
“They scored a lot of goals, which is what we will try to do until the end of the season.”
City have scored the second-most goals across Europe in all competitions this season, with their 109 trailing Bayern Munich’s 112. They are the only two teams to reach three figures.
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they are aware of the images and are looking into them afterErling Haaland, a Manchester City striker, was spotted using his phone while driving.
Erling Haaland appears to be using a mobile phone in pictures posted online, and Greater Manchester Police have confirmed they are aware of the images and are looking into the alleged incident.
On Wednesday, the Sun newspaper published pictures of the Manchester City striker.
The incident involving City’s striker, who has scored 42 goals in 37 games this season, has not been addressed by the team.
The 22-year-old withdrew from his country’s squad after being picked up by the national team of Norway last week picking up a groin injury.
Haaland is now “touch and go” for Manchester City’s game against Liverpool after the international break, according to his father Alf-Inge.
City have offered no update on Haaland’s fitness but the striker’s father said last week he is receiving treatment in Spain.
“Manchester City has a partnership with a hospital in Barcelona so he has been there for further checks and treatment,” Alfie Haaland told Norway’s TV 2 Sport on Saturday.
“Now he has been in [Marbella] for a couple of days with the physio from the club.
Firstly, I’m not a doctor and secondly, I think it’s ‘touch and go’, yes. You can’t just go two weeks without training and then jump right into a fight. There must be a progression there.
“They can gamble on it, but if he doesn’t get proper training with the team, then he won’t play. It is about how he responds to treatment in the next few days. He needs a lot of care.”
Jamaican striker Shaw has 26 goals in 23 games for City this season in all competitions, including 15 in 15 in the Women’s Super League.
The 26-year-old has scored once every 86 minutes in the Premier League, which is not quite on par with men’s star Haaland, who has scored once every 76 minutes, but close enough for observers to notice the similarities.
City manager Gareth Taylor did not shy away from comparisons between the “pretty remarkable” pair last week, explaining how both are “so mentally strong”.
“I’m not surprised she’s doing what she is doing, and she still has so many levels to go to, which is quite frightening to be honest,” Greenwood told BBC Sport.
“I think she can be the best in the world if she wants to be. She has all the attributes to be the best in the world.
“I know how hard she works in training. It’s the reason she’s flourishing right now.
“She’s been really strong for us, so we just need to keep feeding her, keep giving her the ball, and the rest she’ll take care of.”
Erling Haaland,who withdrew from the Norwegian team for their first two Euro 2024 qualifying matches due to a groin injury, will return to Manchester City for medical tests.
Following a five-goal outburst in a 7-0 Champions League thrashing of RB Leipzig, the star striker netted a hat-trick as City defeated Burnley 6-0 at the weekend in the FA Cup quarterfinals.
Haaland joined his teammates from Norway as they got ready to play Spain and Georgia, but he won’t be taking part in either of those games.
Team doctor Ola Sand told the Norwegian Football Federation’s website: “We hoped that this would carry over to Saturday but after doing tests and examinations yesterday it became clear that he will not make it to the games against Spain and Georgia.
“It is better that he receives medical follow-up at the club.”
Kampene mot Spania og Georgia går dessverre uten Erling Braut Haaland. Han har reist hjem grunnet skade. Les mer her: https://t.co/BPVnWNWUgt
Norway boss Stale Solbakken added: “Erling took it hard when he realised that he could not fight for the team.
No conclusive evidence to leave Walker out of England squad – Southgate
“Fortunately, there is still plenty of self-confidence, talent and cohesion in this group to win points in the next matches.”
City will hope the injury is not serious ahead of a busy period following the international break, starting with a crunch Premier League clash at home to Liverpool on April 1 as Pep Guardiola’s side aim to bridge the eight-point gap to leaders Arsenal.
Erling Haaland,a forward for Manchester City, has now scored more goals than any other player in a single season.
The Norwegian forward led his team (City) to an 8-1 aggregate victory over RB Leipzig on Tuesday by playing admirably and scoring five breathtaking goals, including a hat-trick in the first half. As a result, City advanced to the quarterfinals of the Champions League (UCL).
The 22-year-old is now the player with the fastest and youngest 30 goal streak in 25 UCL games.
30 goals in 25 Champions League total games in his career 👽🔵🏆 #MCFC
He is also the youngest player to score five times in a single Champions League match, joining Argentina star Lionel Messi and Brazil forward Luiz Adriano as the only players to do so.
After the game, the City footballing icon admitted to being worn out after every celebration but was realistic about goal scoring which inspires him to play impressively.
“My super strength is scoring goals,” Haaland told BT Sport.
“A lot of it is being quick in the mind and trying to put it where the goalkeeper is not. I was so tired after my celebrations.”
The Norwegian forward said he could have scored more goals, however, he missed a lot of chances.
“I could have scored more goals, I missed a lot of chances but the most important thing is to come to chances because when you come to chances, that’s what you want as a striker”, he told CBS Sports.
On Twitter, football fans across the globe have commended the 22-year-old old for his stunning performance and record.
Most comments say that the Club’s manager [Pep Guardiola] denied Haaland of becoming the first player to secure the most goals in a single match of the UCL competition.
Pep Guardiola subbing Erling Haaland off to preserve Messi’s historical record in the UCL of 5 goals in a single game 🫡
This man here blocked Erling Haaland chance of becoming the player with most UCL goals in a single match because of Messi. Pep Guardiola will never win the UCL again!!! 💔💔🥺 pic.twitter.com/L0TSvc8IPQ
Erling Haaland and Pep Guardiola engaged in a sombre “argument” following his removal from the lineup during their decisive victory over RB Leipzig on March 14.
Haaland scored five of the seven goals Manchester City scored against their German opponents to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.
After an hour had passed, Haaland was taken off the field to a standing ovation from the fans at Etihad Stadium and his manager, who congratulated him. He joined Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano as the only players in Champions League history to score five goals in a single match.
But as the Norwegian later revealed, he questioned Guardiola as to why he had denied him the opportunity to complete a double hat-trick. Haaland was of the idea that had he been accorded a few
However, Guardiola downplayed the incident, revealing his satisfaction with his striker who has now broken the record for most goals for Man City in a single season. “If he achieved this milestone at 22, 23 years old, it will be boring, his life. Now he has a target.
That’s why I make the substitution,” Guardiola said as quoted by the Independent. The Spanish manager also admitted he had no idea about Messi’s record when he took the Norwegian off.
Sports Brief also reported on football fans on social media being unable to understand Guardiola’s decision to sub Haaland in Man City’s 7-0 thrashing of Leipzig on Tuesday.
The Norwegian scored five goals with only 30 touches with his hat-trick being completed before half-time, but the 22-year-old was keen on more goals when he was hooked off.
Haaland missed out on the chance to achieve another special milestone after his manager,Guardiola substituted him in the 64th minute in an act of mercy towards the Germans.
In his first season with the team, Haaland has been in sensational form, scoring 34 goals in all of his appearances across all competitions.
The international player from Norway has only scored three goals in his last nine games, raising concerns about a decline in performance.
However, De Bruyne disagrees, saying that teams are better equipped to deal with him now than they were at the start of the season.
“I think it’s a bit of everything but I don’t feel like it’s different than in the beginning,” he told a press conference ahead of the Champions League clash against RB Leipzig.
“People are maybe more anticipating to his runs, there’s always the first part of the season and then the second part. In the second part, I feel teams are a lot more organised, they play for more from both sides of the table, so people are more prepared in every sense of the way.
“Maybe he was a little bit more prolific [before] when he got the chances but I don’t think we need to complain about Erling’s output. I think he’s fine.
“If we see the Crystal Palace game, he could have scored two, I don’t think there’s any issue but obviously people are always anticipating for him to score two or three goals but his average is a goal a game. It seems fine for me.
“It’s good to have different options. In the past few years, people would maybe say there wasn’t enough presence in the box and there wasn’t enough deep runs, now people are saying the opposite.
“It works in different ways. In the beginning of the season when everything was going in, we were winning a lot of games and nothing was going wrong, but then obviously when you lose a few points it’s different.
“I don’t think there’s an issue with anything going out from the team or with Erling. I know people will judge on how we play and maybe we sometimes play a better brand of football in different games or in other years but that happens.
“Crystal Palace at home for instance,he won us the game. I think the team is really happy with him, he’s really happy playing with us, so I think we’re fine.”
As the second legs of theChampions League last 16 continue on Tuesday, there will be two closely contested matches.
Romelu Lukaku’s late goal gave Inter a slim 1-0 lead over Porto at San Siro going into the rematch in Portugal.
The Serie A giants, however, did not exactly practise well, falling to Estoril Praia 3-2 on the same day that Sergio Conceicao’s team defeated lowly Spezia 3-2 in a hard-fought victory.
Erling Haaland’s penalty helped Manchester City defeat Crystal Palace 1-0, and RB Leipzig, a Bundesliga team, moved up to third in the standings after defeating Borussia Monchengladbach 3-0.
After their 1-1 draw in the first leg in Germany, Pep Guardiola will be hoping that home advantage can keep the club’s dream alive of a first Champions League title.
We have picked out the standout Opta data to preview Tuesday’s games.
Having said that, Porto have lost four of their last six home matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League, conceding 13 goals across those four defeats.
They have, though, won each of their last four home matches in Europe against Italian clubs, beating Roma, Juventus, Milan and Lazio in succession. The last Italian side to defeat them away from home was Juventus in February 2017.
Inter have progressed from four of their five two-legged Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg, only being eliminated from such a position in 2005-06 by Villarreal.
Porto have been eliminated from six of their seven two-legged Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, only progressing in 2018-19 against Roma.
Lukaku’s winning goal in the first leg meant he has scored eight goals in 12 appearances for Inter in the Champions League. His record of 111 minutes per goal is the best of any player to have scored five or more goals for the club in the European Cup/Champions League.
Manchester City v RB Leipzig
City are unbeaten across their last 23 home matches in the Champions League, winning 21. If they avoid defeat in this match, they will equal Arsenal’s record for the longest home unbeaten run by an English club in the competition (24 games between September 2004 and April 2009).
Leipzig are unbeaten in five matches in the Champions League (W4 D1), their longest unbeaten run in the competition since a seven-game stretch in 2019-20 when they reached the semi-final.
The last team to defeat City at the Etihad Stadium in a Champions League knockout stage match was Liverpool in the 2017-18 quarter-final second leg – visiting sides have avoided defeat just once in eight matches since.
Marco Rose has taken charge of three matches in the Champions League knockout stages, with all three coming against City, after his Monchengladbach side were eliminated by the club in the last 16 in 2020-21. The only previous instance of a head coach facing the same opponent in his first four Champions League knockout stage matches is Frank Rijkaard against Chelsea between 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Haaland has scored 17 goals in 11 home matches in the Champions League for Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and City, scoring at least two goals in seven of those games. The Norwegian has scored a goal every 49 minutes on average in these matches.
Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku has scored 10 goals across his last 12 starts in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against City at the Etihad Stadium in September 2021. Nkunku is one of two players to score a hat-trick against City in the competition, the other being Lionel Messi in October 2016.
No matter how many times his team wins thePremier League, Pep Guardiola acknowledges that the success in the Champions League will define his time as manager of Manchester City. Tuesday’s second leg of City’s Champions League last-16 tie against Bundesliga powerhouse Leipzig will be played with the goal of reaching the quarterfinals for the sixth consecutive season.
Despite being held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Guardiola’s team is expected to advance in front of their home crowd at the Etihad Stadium.
The quest to end City’s wait to win the top club competition in Europe for the first time inspires and frustrates Guardiola at the same time.
The 52-year-old has won the Premier League four times, four League Cups, and FA Cup during his remarkably successful seven years in Manchester.
Yet for all his domestic glory with City, it is the Champions League that remains the holy grail. .
Guardiola won the Champions League twice as Barcelona boss, in 2009 and 2011, but failed to repeat that success in his three years with Bayern Munich.
City lost to Chelsea in the 2021 final but have also endured a series of agonising exits from the knockout stages, with last season’s astonishing late collapse against Real Madrid in the semi-finals an especially bitter blow.
Asked if his time at City would be judged solely on his European achievements, Guardiola told reporters: “Yes. It doesn’t mean I agree with that but absolutely we will be judged by this competition.” However, he believes City’s gradual progress from outsiders to established members of Europe’s elite under his leadership deserves more respect.
“Since day one when I arrived, sitting here for the first time, they (the media) asked me ‘Are you here to win the Champions League?’” he said. “I said ‘What? If you are manager of Real Madrid maybe I accept that.’
But I accept it here. It’s not going to change.” ‘Try again’ City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is adamant the Guardiola era should still be deemed a success despite the failure so far to land the Champions League title.
“Every year we have been close, quarters, semis, final. We just haven’t done the last bit. We are going to try again,” he said. “If you care about the noise then obviously it’s going to annoy you. I know we haven’t won it but we have done really well. “I know people only judge on if you win it, but there have been a lot of circumstances.
” With City trailing five points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, the Champions League is even more important for Guardiola’s team this season.
For City to win the Premier League or Champions League, they will needErling Haaland at his best. Haaland scored the penalty winner at Crystal Palace on Saturday to reach 34 goals in all competitions this season.
There are still critics of Haaland’s lack of involvement in City’s build-up play and Guardiola believes the Norway striker can improve that side of his game. “I don’t like one player just to be in the box to score goals. Of course that is important, it is the main thing, but it is not all we need of him,” Guardiola said.
“When we are away from the opponent’s box he cannot score a goal. We need him to be involved and to be active. “He has improved a little bit but on this he can do better.”
Agent to Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, Rafaela Pimenta, says Real Madrid is still the “dreamland” for all footballers.
Incredibly, Haaland has 33 goals for City this season, four more than any other player in the top five leagues in Europe. He has also broken numerous records.
The Norwegian international is currently playing at Etihad Stadium in the first year of a five-year contract, but he is still linked with a transfer to LaLiga powerhouse Real Madrid.
Haaland reportedly has a release clause in his contract that will allow him to join Madrid at the end of the upcoming season, but City manager Pep Guardiola previously denied those rumours.
But Haaland’s agent did little to quash talk of a future switch to the Spanish capital when asked about the 22-year-old’s future at the FT Business of Football Summit in London.
“There is the Premier League, and there is Real Madrid. Real Madrid has something of its own that makes it the dreamland for the players,” Pimenta said.
“Madrid keeps this magic going. They don’t have the league competition every week, but they do have the Champions League.”
Haaland has previously said the attractiveness of playing under Guardiola at a club where father Alf-Inge once played was too much to turn down.
However, Pimenta suggested the former Borussia Dortmund star already knows which club he will join next.
“We have to make a plan, we need to have a goal,” she said. “Maybe we won’t achieve it, but if we don’t know where we’re going, then for sure we don’t get there.
Haaland is one of a number of high-profile clients represented by Pimenta, along with the likes of Paul Pogba, Matthijs de Ligt, Marco Verratti and Ryan Gravenberch.
All of those players have either played in or been strongly linked with a move to the Premier League, which Pimenta feels is still the elite division in world football.
“When I started in this business, if I told [a player], ‘you’re moving to England’, they would ask me, ‘what did I do wrong?’,” she said.
“Now when we talk to players, and ask them what is their goal, they say the Premier League. They don’t say a team, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, they say ‘the Premier League’.
“This is the first time in 25 years that I hear so many players say I want to go to a league, not to a club. This is the place to be for an agent.
“An agent needs to be where a player wants to be. It’s a fantastic league. It’s so competitive, every game is a challenge, everyone wants to watch it.”
Manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, offered a novel solution to RB Leipzig’s struggles to score more after watching his team hold them to a second consecutive 1-1 draw, this time in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match.
“Maybe in the second leg I will be crazy and play with nine strikers,” he joked.
Even though Guardiola seemed upbeat following the match in Germany, and a draw on the road in a European knockout match is certainly not a result to be sniffed at, he will likely still be frustrated that his team has not converted their recent dominance into more goals.
The same thing happened at RB Leipzig as it did at the weekend, costing them two points in the Premier League title race after Manchester City’s first-half goal was cancelled out by Nottingham Forest’s equaliser.
Riyad Mahrez’s goal was the only result of City’s complete dominance in the first half.
“You expect us to come here and win 0-5? That is not a reality,” Guardiola told BT Sport after the game.
“This is a competition where, in the group stage, many important teams are out. It is difficult. We are a good team, and we do many, many good things. We continued to do this.
“People expect us to come here and win 4-0; I am sorry we are not able to do this.”
A quiet night for Haaland
City’s hopes of scoring more than one goal were not helped by a quiet display from Erling Haaland.
The striker, who missed a number of chances at Forest, had just seven touches of the ball in the first half and none of those were in the opposition penalty box.
Haaland, usually so deadly with the few chances he gets, had a real opportunity to add a second for City after the break but dragged his shot well wide.
The Norway international has five goals in five Champions League games for Guardiola’s side this season and has 32 overall, so of course the odd quiet game is allowed, but this was a particularly anonymous one.
By the end he had had 20 touches of the ball and just one shot on goal.
Mahrez, who scored his 20th goal in the Champions League, defended the work of his team-mate.
“He is a fast, powerful attacker and we know his qualities,” he said.
“It’s not up to him to win, to go get the ball. He’s not there to have 70 touches every game.”
Former Arsenal defender Matthew Upson, who was watching the game for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “You can’t say he doesn’t do his job when you look at the numbers. I know he didn’t score tonight, but that’s his role; that’s how they play.
“His manager seems happy with it and he seems happy that he’s scoring loads of goals and going to be breaking records in terms of that.”
‘Trust the process’ as Guardiola opts not to turn to his bench
As the game wore on and a winner for City – who were unfortunate not to have been awarded a late penalty for handball – looked increasingly unlikely, it seemed unusual that Guardiola did not turn to his bench.
With a number of attacking options available to him including Phil Foden and Julian Alvarez, Guardiola had players who could make a difference, but he didn’t see the need to mix things up.
“I saw the team was good, especially in the middle,” he added. “In the end I decided to continue with what I had.”
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand said on BT Sport: “You want to get on the pitch and play football, especially when you think you are the person who can affect this game, unlock this team.
“But at the same time you have to respect Pep. All of the players, especially in the attacking areas of the pitch, have these moments – so you have to be patient, trust the process.”
‘We will adjust some things to try and go through’
Pep Guardiola debriefed his players on the pitch at full time
Given City’s formidable record on home soil — they have won 17 of 19 games at the Etihad Stadium this season — they will rightly feel confident of getting the job done in the return leg on Tuesday, March 14.
At full-time on Wednesday, Guardiola gathered his players in a huddle to remind them they had plenty to be positive about.
“I said ‘why you have your heads down? Heads up, it was good’,” Guardiola said of that moment.
“Hopefully, in three weeks, we will arrive in good condition. We can do better. We have to adjust some things and find a way to go through.”
Manchester City needs a striker, and claims that Erling Haaland only scores “easy” goals are “a lie,” according to his teammate Ederson.
Since joining City from Borussia Dortmund last year, Haaland has scored 32 goals in 31 appearances across all competitions, which is more than any other player from one of the top five leagues in Europe.
In the Premier League, he has scored 26 goals, but the 22-year-old has recently come under fire as City struggles to overtake Arsenal and Manchester United in the race for the championship.
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher said Haaland “might have picked the wrong club,” while Arsenal great Thierry Henry speculated that Tottenham’s Harry Kane might have been a better fit for City.
However, Ederson believes Haaland is well-suited to City’s style, though he acknowledges Pep Guardiola’s men have had to adapt to his characteristics.
“When he arrived, we said he was going to score a lot—and that’s been happening.” “He is a brilliant goalscorer; he always looks to score and help the team,” Ederson told UEFA.com.
“He is the striker we needed because, in comparison to Gabriel [Jesus], they are different players.” Gabi likes to come in from out wide; he is stronger and more versatile. Haaland plays more centrally, looking to get into the box, he is a target in the area.
“That has been the major difference. When you get into the final third you have someone who will always be in the area.
“Many people say most of the goals he scores are easy—but that is a lie.” It’s his positioning—that’s his best ability. He doesn’t score easy goals, he positions himself very well.
City return to Champions League action when they visit RB Leipzig for the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday, and with Haaland netting 28 times in 23 appearances in the competition throughout his career, the club hope his finishing ability will help deliver their first European crown.
Ederson is in no doubt as to the importance of continental success to City, saying: “That’s our main objective, the main objective of the club.
“We’ve been trying [to win it] and will carry on trying. We haven’t won it yet, we reached the final [in 2021], and a few semi-finals, and we didn’t come out of it with a good result.
“But I think this year, we’re more than capable of getting to the final and challenging for the title.
“Now this title is what the club needs, it’s what we athletes need and it’s what Guardiola needs here at the club, too. This year, we’re going to try. We’re going after it.”
Substitute Ohi Omoijuanfo made light of Erling Haaland’s absence as Norway struck late to beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 in Dublin.
Omoijuanfo snatched the visitors victory with his first senior international goal at the Aviva Stadium after Alan Browne had cancelled out Leo Ostigard’s opener.
It was a kick in the teeth for Stephen Kenny’s men, who had rallied after a pedestrian first half to look the team more likely to win the game after the break.
They will head for Malta on Sunday knowing there are issues to address before they open their Euro 2024 campaign in March with a daunting fixture against France.
Norway enjoyed the better of the early exchanges with Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard pulling the strings impressively.
But manager Stale Solbakken will have been disappointed with the way they wilted in the face of the Irish riposte before Omoijuanfo’s late intervention, with testing trips to Spain and Georgia awaiting them next year.
With Cardiff’s Callum O’Dowda lining up in an unaccustomed left wing-back role, Ireland started confidently to push Norway back into their own half, and Callum Robinson fired wide from distance with less than three minutes played.
The visitors responded with Mohamed Elyounoussi causing problems, and the Southampton midfielder blazed a sixth-minute attempt high over.
Skipper John Egan had to be at his best to block Elyounoussi’s 22nd-minute shot after the wide man had been played in behind Nathan Collins and Patrick Berg blazed over from Odegaard’s cross at the resulting corner.
Jorgen Strand Larsen fired wastefully over and goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was troubled by Odegaard’s speculative free-kick with the Republic rather losing their way.
The home side enjoyed a let-off when Elyounoussi slipped before he could shoot after carving his way into the penalty area 12 minutes before the break, but they were not so fortunate with five minutes of the half remaining.
Ostigard timed his run to perfection to get in front of Egan and head Odegaard’s corner past Bazunu to give Norway a deserved lead.
Ireland returned with much greater purpose and might have been level within five minutes.
O’Dowda and Robinson combined down the left for the striker to lift a cross into the middle where Browne just failed to get to it and the unsuspecting Egan bundled the ball just wide as he tried to react.
Morten Thorsby was relieved to see his attempted clearance trickle past a post rather than inside it after Michael Obafemi had made his presence felt, and keeper Orjan Nyland denied Browne at point-blank range.
Bazunu kept Kenny’s men in the game with a 58th-minute save from Ola Solbakken after he had exchanged passes with Thorsby, but the general trend was very much in the other direction.
O’Dowda failed to make the most of a headed opportunity at the far post, but it was from his 69th-minute cross that his side forced their way back into it.
Ostigard could only head the ball to Browne on the edge of the box and he sent a skidding shot inside the post despite Nyland’s best efforts.
However, there was to be a late twist when, after Collins failed to deal with an 85th-minute Odegaard free-kick, substitute Omoijuanfo stabbed home to win it.
Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha has said Erling Haaland may struggle to score as many goals over the rest of the season as opponents figure him out.
The Norway international has enjoyed a blistering start to life at the Etihad Stadium, with 23 goals across all competitions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
That includes 18 in the Premier Leaguealone, putting him firmly on course to smash the competition’s record single-season tally of 34 with not even half the campaign gone.
But while Onuoha, who played for City between 2004 and 2012, thinks it likely he could rack up an all-time feat, he warns the Leeds-born attacker will likely face sterner opposition following the mid-season break.
“It’s very possible,” he told Stats Perform. “But I think it gets harder the more time that passes in terms of being in the league, because people know how you operate.
“They know they have to have get a better idea of how to stop you, because City with a six-foot four striker is a different look for most teams that played against them for the last six or seven years under [Pep] Guardiola.
“It’s possible if he stays available and City stay dominant. But football is very difficult, especially in the second half of [a] season, where you start to run out of time.
“The moment you start running out of time, the desperation kicks in, and things which maybe would have been easier in the first half of the season [are] a bit more difficult.”
Onuoha feels Haaland has shown he can cope with the pressure amid a lightning start, firing City into the thick of another title race, though the ex-defender also praised Arsenal amid their own surprise charge
“There’s going to be so many more eyes on him because he [is] one of the biggest players in world football, not necessarily the Premier League,” he added. “He’s a talent who’s going to bring eyeballs. He’s been exceptional.
“But I have to give credit to Arsenal, I think Arsenal has been incredible. They’ve dropped five points up to this moment. And in those games, they’ve looked really good.
“It’s very entertaining. Whatever we see now, there’s no guarantee this is how it will finish. I think that’s what makes it so special.”
Manchester City will assess Erling Haaland ahead of their Premier League clash with Leicester after his half-time withdrawal against Borussia Dortmund in midweek.
Haaland’s return to the Signal Iduna Park was ended prematurely on Wednesday due to a fever and a knock.
City travel to face the Foxes in Saturday’s early kick-off for a game that gives them the chance to put pressure on Arsenal, who host Nottingham Forest on Sunday, by leapfrogging them at the top of the table.
But it is still unclear whether they will have Haaland at their disposal.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the visit to the King Power Stadium, Pep Guardiola said of his star striker: “He feels better but we will train this afternoon [Friday] and we will assess in a few hours.
“We will see how he is feeling and then we will decide.”
Haaland has made a blistering start to life in the Premier League following his move from Dortmund.
He has scored 17 goals in 11 Premier League appearances this season, already the joint-second most by a Norwegian player in a single campaign (Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, 18 in 1996-97). His goals have been worth 11 points, the most for a City player in a single campaign since Raheem Sterling in 2017-18 (also 11).
Should he be unable to feature against Leicester, Julian Alvarez would likely take his place at the heart of the attack.
The 22-year-old has scored twice in nine league games for City, of which he has started just one.
Despite his limited time in the XI, Guardiola has complete faith in Alvarez’s ability to fill the void.
“If Haaland doesn’t play, then Alvarez is the natural first option to replace him. I don’t judge Julian on how many goals he has scored,” added Guardiola.
“Play 90 minutes every game and he will score goals, maybe not like Erling, but he will score goals.”
Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland will be a “genius” if he can break the Premier League scoring record, and hailed the impact of Borussia Dortmund on the striker’s development.
The Norway international has scored 17 top-flight goals in 11 outings since his move from Dortmund, managing a brace in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Haaland also became the first City player to score in seven consecutive home games in all competitions since Sergio Aguero in the 2017-18 season.
Alan Shearer and Andy Cole both scored 34 goals in a single campaign, sharing the English top-flight record, with Guardiola expecting Haaland to surpass that mark if he can continue his impressive form.
“If he continues to score with this rhythm, he will be a genius, with the average every game, he’s going to break the record,” the City manager said.
“But football, maybe you score then a few days later you stop scoring, I don’t know.
“All the strikers I have ever seen, [Samuel] Eto’o, [Lionel] Messi, [Robert] Lewandowski, [Thomas] Muller, [Sergio] Aguero, their ambitions to score goals, goals and more goals is normal, it has to be like that.”
While the 22-year-old forward will eye breaking more Premier League records, Haaland’s attention must first turn to a reunion at Dortmund in the Champions League.
City have already qualified for the knockout stages of UEFA’s flagship club competition but will progress as Group G winners with victory at Signal Iduna Park.
Tuesday will mark a memorable return for Haaland, who scored 86 goals in 89 appearances during his two-and-a-half-year spell at BVB, and Guardiola credited the influence of the Bundesliga side on the striker’s progression.
“It will be good [the reception he gets]. Salzburg in Austria, then Dortmund, he scored a lot of goals as well,” the Spaniard added.
“At Dortmund, that period helped, the managers he had, the team-mates he had. In a few years, he will be a better player again from the [City] team-mates he plays with, definitely.”
With a goal against his former side, Haaland would become just the sixth player to score in five or more consecutive Champions League outings on as many as three separate occasions, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (5), Messi (3), Lewandowski (3), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (3) and Ruud van Nistelrooy (3).
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is looking forward to Sunday’s trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool, allowing some key players to rest during Tuesday’s 0-0 Champions League draw against FC Copenhagen.
City were bright early and had chances to take the lead, with a disallowed goal in the 11th minute and a saved penalty from Riyad Mahrez in the 25th, before Sergio Gomez was shown a straight red card that changed the game.
After controlling 66 per cent of the possession in a comfortable first half, that figure dipped to 46 per cent after the break as Copenhagen found a foothold into the game and fought hard for their point.
Speaking after the match, where star striker Erling Haaland was rested and starting midfielders Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were only used as late substitutes, Guardiola said the compressed schedule with multiple games per week had finally started to catch up to some players.
“Many players didn’t start today because they were really, really, exhausted, tired and fatigued and had some niggles,” he said.
“Erling [Haaland] didn’t feel very good after the game against Southampton, Phil [Foden] had some problems, Bernardo [Silva] was so tired yesterday, he told us.
“The players, they feel better and I of course, didn’t want to take a risk. Of course, it was so important, but when we have nine points already in our pocket, we need one more game to qualify mathematically, ok we took one point, we played for that and we started really well.
“We cannot deny how well we played for the first minutes, knowing that it’s difficult. Their defence is so deep and well-organised and after that, those situations, the goal disallowed, the penalty, the sending off, the game changed, especially playing almost for an hour 10 against 11.”
When asked if this is a perfect time to face Liverpool – coming off a loss to Arsenal and with one fewer day of rest after they play Rangers on Wednesday – Guardiola said form goes out the window in fixtures this big.
“It’s the scale of the fixture when you have to go to Anfield,” he said. “It’s not about how you arrive, good or bad, you have to perform every time.
“We have four days [to prepare] – we travel right now, tomorrow we have regeneration, one day off, clear our minds, because for one or two weeks we’ve not had a day off with a game every three days, and after that we’ll prepare the game against Liverpool.”
Pep Guardiola has denied claims Erling Haaland has a release clause in his Manchester City contract that would allow him to join Real Madrid on favourable terms.
Haaland has been outstanding since joining City from Borussia Dortmund at the start of the season, netting twice against Copenhagen on Wednesday to take his tally to an astonishing 19 in 12 games.
But before that game, Fernando Sanz – a former Madrid player and later the president of Malaga – had suggested Haaland’s deal had an “exit clause” with “very beneficial conditions” for Los Blancos.
Haaland joined City after they activated a clause in his Dortmund contract, but Guardiola insisted after the Copenhagen game there was no truth in the claim.
“It’s not true,” he told reporters. “He has not got a release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. It’s not true. That’s all I can say.
“Absolutely not [it is not annoying]. There are rumours and people talk, and you cannot control it. We always have to worry about what we can control.
“The important thing is he can adapt really well, I have the feeling he is happy here. We tried with him and all of them, the people who stayed here, and made them happy. This is the most important thing.
“At the end, what’s going to happen in the future? Who knows it? Nobody knows it.
“What’s important is he’s happy and settled perfectly and incredibly loved by everyone. This is the most important thing.”
Haaland was substituted at half-time in the 5-0 win at Copenhagen, missing the chance to score another hat-trick after three in his past three home Premier League games.
Guardiola said the change was not planned, as he explained: “He played a lot of minutes three days ago, the game was under control, and Cole Palmer [his replacement] is an excellent player, a top-class player.
“If the game was tight, Erling would continue to play. But it was better to rest and to think of Southampton, a team we were not able to beat last season. Hopefully this season we can do it.”
Guardiola added: “Erling Haaland, what does he want? The same as us; to win the game. He made the hat-tricks to win the games.”
Of the performance, in which an own goal, a Riyad Mahrez penalty and Julian Alvarez’s close-range finish added to Haaland’s double, Guardiola said: “Today we see the reason why these years were really, really successful at this club.
“After Man United, 6-3, a lot of compliments, a lot of nice things, we were able to be humble enough to respect the opponent like every team we play. This is the secret of this team.”
Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup said his team “have to improve” but accepted: “There was not anything we could do to City.
“There were of course things we could always do better, but we just need to accept we were playing against the best team in the world right now. They are several levels above us.”
Erling Haaland shares many of the same qualities as Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, according to Peter Schmeichel, who has described the Manchester City man as several top strikers “put into one player”.
Haaland produced an incredible display as City swatted aside Manchester United for a 6-3 derby win on Sunday, scoring a treble and teeing up two goals for fellow hat-trick hero Phil Foden.
The Norwegian – who has scored 14 goals in his first eight Premier League appearances – has now scored a hat-trick in three successive home league games, becoming the first player to do so in the competition’s history.
After watching Haaland tear United apart at the Etihad Stadium, Schmeichel picked out similarities between the 22-year-old and several striking legends.
“The biggest part of a good striker is patience. I played against some of the best strikers, and when they go missing is when you really have to concentrate,” the former United and City goalkeeper told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“The Cristiano Ronaldos, the Filippo Inzaghis of this world – they disappear then all of a sudden they get the chance.
“When you look at Haaland, you see different players. That Zlatan-like goal, and Ronaldo is in there too. You see top, top strikers in one.
“That is why he is so dangerous. He has the luxury of seeing many top strikers and they are all put into one player.”
Haaland’s dominant display on Sunday saw him become just the 25th player to record five goal involvements in a Premier League game – and the youngest to ever do so (22 years, 73 days).
In Haaland and team-mate Kevin De Bruyne, meanwhile, City have the highest goalscorer and top assist-maker in Europe’s top five leagues this season (in all competitions).
Haaland has already found the net 17 times this season, with five of those strikes being laid on by De Bruyne, who has a total of 10 assists in 2022-23.
Famed for being a tough league to adapt to, Erling Haaland is taking to the Premier League like a duck to water.
After scoring his first hat-trick for Manchester City at the weekend — in its 4-2 win over Crystal Palace — having joined from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, Haaland repeated the feat on Wednesday night.
It took the Norwegian striker just 26 minutes between his first and third goal in the first half to complete the feat, as City romped to a 6-0 win over newly-promoted Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium.
It means that Haaland has now scored a remarkable nine goals in his first five Premier League appearances, breaking the previous record of eight set by Mick Quinn and City’s all-time top goalscorer, Sergio Agüero.
Afterwards, Haaland hailed his teammates and the impact they’ve had on his game, calling the team’s performance “amazing.”
“It was about keep doing what we did in the second half against Crystal Palace,” he said
Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola has made comments suggesting that the signing of major players is because his side is an elite club.
Man City in May signed Erling Haaland, who was also on the wish list of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
An amount of £51.2million (€60m) was spent to get the striker.
Guardiola told BBC’s Football Focus that Man City has been able to create a niche for themselves, hence contributed to the signing of the Norway international.
“Yeah, maybe it’s right. We cannot deny how incredible his numbers and talent are. From what I saw of him so far, he’s a huge competitor in every training session, he’s incredibly focused to do it, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.
“But we had a lot of legends here, whose contribution has been [important] to the way we are right now. Sergio, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, David Silva, many of these,” Guardiola added.
Man City have lifted the Premier League trophy four times in the six full seasons in England, and according to Guardiola, that can now attract players who would previously have preferred huge European clubs such as Bayern, Madrid or Barcelona.
“You’re right, maybe we could not do it or they choose another club, because the charisma of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid was higher than us. In the highest [level] of Europe, we are new, just one decade, and they have long, long histories.
And maybe you’re right. We know the most followed strikers or players now come here, that is the proof that we have done really well. I remember in pre-season, in the [United] States five years or six years ago, there were few blue shirts in the stands. These last games against Bayern Munich and [Club] America [in July], there was a lot.
“People follow the winners and we won a lot in these last years, and people support us around the world, which is incredible. It’s a big honour,” he said.
Haaland has started brightly, scoring three goals in his first three league games.
The Norway international is just the third player to score on both of his first two away trips in the Premier League for City, after Emmanuel Adebayor and Emile Mpenza, having followed up his opening-game double at West Ham with a goal in a 3-3 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday.
City’s all-time record goalscorer Sergio Aguero, meanwhile, is the only other player to score twice on his Premier League debut for the club, having done so against Swansea City in August 2011.
Gabriel Jesus is a great pick, if not an original one, but the 591,013 managers who gave him the captain’s armband against Leicester stole a march on nearly six million others who went with either Erling Haaland or Mo Salah in gameweek two.
You may well be tempted to follow suit in gameweek three with Arsenal away to Bournemouth and if you’re a Darwin Nunez owner who doesn’t have Jesus then that is a very obvious switch with the Liverpool striker now suspended for three games after his red card against Crystal Palace.
Away from the obvious names of Haaland and Harry Kane, I think Brentford’s Ivan Toney is definitely a good Nunez replacement with a goal and two assists to his name already this season before a run of fixtures against the likes of Fulham, Everton, Leeds and Southampton.
That would also give you a couple of million to beef up your defence or midfield.
Going back to the Arsenal theme Gabriel Martinelli, now £6.3m, has definitely been worth the saving on Bukayo Saka (£8m) so far, but if you’re a Saka owner like me then I would stick with him and I’m even tempted to be greedy and go for both.
There’s no harm in an Arsenal double-up, or even triple-up along with Jesus, for fixtures against Bournemouth, Fulham, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Everton in the next five gameweeks.
The double Manchester City defence, Joao Cancelo plus one of Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker or Ederson, looks like a very sound strategy as they simply haven’t looked like conceding a goal so far this season. Walker is the best value option there but his price has already risen to £5.1m with lots of managers adding him to their teams.
If you chose Kevin De Bruyne over Mo Salah or Son Heung-Min as your premium midfielder then that worked out very nicely in gameweek two, but I wouldn’t sell Salah or Son if that’s the way you’ve gone because their time will come.
De Bruyne is purring though at the start of this season and comes with less rotation risk than the likes of Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez, hence his higher price tag.
Don’t ignore Ilkay Gundogan either at £7.5m, particularly with Bernardo Silva’s future still up in the air. The German has started both games this season and continues to get in great attacking positions as proved by his goal against Bournemouth.
Talking of attacking positions, I commentated on Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 win over West Ham last weekend and Neco Williams really caught the eye, putting in some excellent crosses from set-pieces and open play. If you’re looking for a bargain defender then he’s your man at £4m.
I’m already going off the idea of my two £4m Leicester goalkeepers though – Danny Ward and Daniel Iversen – after the team has shipped six goals against Brentford and Arsenal, so I think I’m going to bump one of them up to Brighton’s Robert Sanchez, who costs just £500,000 more.
Leon Bailey also looks like an early problem in my squad, as he will be for plenty of other managers as he was owned by almost 15% of us in the game in gameweek two, but there’s not many reliable options at his price point of £5m to replace him.
Brentford’s Josh Dasilva is an option at just £4.6m and his return to first-team action has been a heart-warming story this season, but will he continue to start regularly in a competitive Brentford midfield?
I still think Fulham’s Andreas Pereira is the best £4.5m midfielder if he’s fit, or you could go for Brighton’s Pascal Gross at £5.6m if you’re able to spend a little more.
The best bet, if you haven’t already got him, might be to make some money by downgrading someone else in your squad and bumping Bailey up to Martinelli – can you tell I’m quite keen on him?
Finally we’d love you to get involved on the Fantasy 606 podcast this season with me, Chris Sutton and Statman Dave.
We’ve got a team managed by the listeners going up against us, but unfortunately gameweek two hasn’t gone all that well for you – Robbie from Brisbane opted for a -4 to take Andy Robertson and Jesus out of the team to replace them with Oleksandr Zinchenko and Nunez, a move which actually ended up costing 26 points!
If you want to have a go then please e-mail us on fantasy606@bbc.co.uk.
The first episode of the podcast previewing the new season is currently available on the BBC Sounds App.
Our coverage of your Premier League club is bigger and better than ever before – follow your team and sign up for notifications in the BBC Sport app to make sure you never miss a moment.
Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Erling Haaland are the most valuable players in the world, according to research group CIES Football Observatory.
Mbappe, 23, who rejected a move to Real Madrid to stay at Paris St-German, tops the list with an estimated transfer value of 205.6m euros (£175.7m).
Real Madrid’s Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr, who scored the winner in the Champions League final against Liverpool, is second at £158.3m, with Norway’s Manchester City-bound striker Haaland third (£130.4m).
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham (£114.1m) is the most valuable English player on the list in fifth place, ahead of England team-mate and Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden in sixth (£105.9m).
Premier League clubs dominate the list with 41 representatives in the top 100.
The CIES uses a range of variables including a player’s age, performances, economic value of their club and inflation to work out estimated transfer values.
France striker Mbappe signed a new three-year contact with PSG last month as he chose to stay in Paris rather than move to La Liga and Champions League winners Real Madrid.
The World Cup winner scored 28 goals in Ligue 1 to help PSG win the 2021-22 title.
Haaland, 21, is joining Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund after City activated his 60m euro (£51.2m) release clause. His new City team-mate Ruben Dias is the most valuable defender in ninth (£93.6m).
The Premier League player of the season, Manchester City’s 30-year-old Kevin de Bruyne, is the oldest player in the top 100 (£48.9m) and Barcelona’s 17-year-old Gavi (£49.9m) is the youngest.
Meanwhile, PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, who won the European Championship with Italy, is the most valuable goalkeeper at 41st in the rankings (£62.9m).
This season’s Premier League and Champions League runners-up, Liverpool, are represented in the top 10 by January signing Luis Diaz (£94m).
Barcelona trio Pedri, Frenkie de Jong, who has been linked with Manchester United, and Ferran Torres all feature in the top 10.
England internationals Jadon Sancho (£88.1m), Mason Mount (£85.7m) and Bukayo Saka (£85.6m) are ranked 13th, 14th and 15th respectively.
Darwin Nunez, who has been heavily linked with a move from Benfica, has the highest valuation (£59.9m) for players outside of Europe’s top five leagues.
Top 10 most valuable players in world football (CIES Football Observatory)
