Erling Haaland deflects Real Madrid transfer talk to focus on new Man City target
The Norwegian has been linked with Real Madrid but insists he is content in Manchester
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Your support makes all the difference.Erling Haaland has declared that winning the treble has increased his hunger to do it all again as he insisted he is very happy at Manchester City.
The Norwegian, who has long been linked with Real Madrid, said he is not yet thinking about extending his deal at the Etihad Stadium, which runs until 2027, but is instead concentrating on repeating last season’s success.
Haaland scored 52 goals in his debut year for City as they won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League and Pep Guardiola’s side have the chance to repeat the feat.
The former Borussia Dortmund forward said it is easy to stay motivated, explaining: “You can think about it in two ways: one thing I came here and won it all and the other thing, I am 23 and won everything and I got the taste of it and how I work is when I feel this, I want to win it again. Easy as that.”
Haaland has settled well in Manchester and deflected talk of a move by saying: “You never know what the future brings but I am happy.”
Haaland has scored 28 goals in all competitions this season, 18 of them in the Premier League and five of them in last week’s 6-2 FA Cup thrashing of Luton, but feels some people could say he has not had a fine campaign.
He struck 52 times last year, including a Premier League record 36. While he scored City’s late third goal in Sunday’s Manchester derby, he was also guilty of a first-half miss that he admitted was a simple opportunity.
He has missed the most big chances in the division this season – 26, five more than anyone else – and expects to miss more.
He added: “Last year [as] top scorer I got 36 goals and this season I have 18 so you can think in two ways if I have a good season or not. But, yeah, I miss a lot of chances. I will still miss a lot of chances and score goals. I will probably miss a big chance in the future and people will criticise me. I missed the biggest chance in the world two days ago.”
Haaland believes he is better than he used to be at coping with misses as he revealed they used to bring tears from him.
He explained: “It has been a challenge for me. When I was young, I could start crying if we lost and I missed chances.
“It is a mental thing, I don’t have any exercises but it is something I have been working naturally on. It is like everything in life, if you overthink it is it is not good. I have got one career and I try to have the best career possible and become the best version of myself.”
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