Pep Guardiola lays down 'easy' challenge to Real Madrid over Erling Haaland interest
- Real Madrid remain keen to sign Haaland from Man City
- Reports in Spain claim Haaland is desperate to leave Manchester this summer
- Guardiola wants the striker to sign a new contract
By Tom Gott
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has encouraged suitors of striker Erling Haaland to simply pick up the phone and find out whether a deal is possible.
Haaland remains a long-term target for Real Madrid, who have been tipped to move for the Norway international this summer either as an alternative to Kylian Mbappe or as an accessory to the Frenchman.
Reports in Spain have even gone as far as to suggest that Haaland is utterly miserable with life in Manchester and is instead desperate to move to Spain - his frequent holidays in Marbella seemingly enough 'evidence' to prove their point.
"For one report... is it going to change something?" Guardiola said when asked about the claims. "It's not going to happen. It’s going to happen when Erling decides to extend the contract or not, when the club decides to extend the contract or not, when we have potential offers for him or not.
"If someone wants Erling it's easy – phone. Call Man City and ask. So that is what we do when we want to sign someone. It’s not complicated.
"Of course you have to ignore it [the media talk]. I know the reality in this world. It doesn't bother me at all, so as much as the players are focused on what they have to do the rest is not important."
City are expected to open contract talks with Haaland in the near future to once again cool speculation of a departure, and while Guardiola admitted he was none the wiser about such discussions, he made it clear he does not want to entertain the idea of losing Haaland.
"What do you think? That we don't want Erling to stay here for one decade? Honestly," Guardiola said, sarcastically. "Yes, we want him [to stay] for a long, long time in this club. We are in love with him.
"I don't know [about contract talks]. I am not involved in that. It’s always about the desire of the player, the club, does he stay, does he want to leave, I don’t have info.
"He arrived last season. His impact was incredible at the beginning of [this] season, it was really good, then had two months injured.
"What happens in the future honestly I don't know. We are happy to have him. Hopefully he is happy to be with us. That is what we know. The rest I don't know. We can't control what the people say."
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