Pep Guardiola praised Erling Haaland's behaviour off the pitch as he brought him into a conversation about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Comments that the Manchester City manager made in a broadcast interview after their 4-1 win over Southampton comparing his striker to the two modern greats prompted a further discussion in his press conference. There, he made clear that Haaland had only done for a season what the duo had managed over two decades, but has seen enough from the 22-year-old to think that he can at least attempt to take their mantle.
Guardiola said that Haaland has a similar mindset to Messi did but warned that he needs to steer clear of injury if he is to try and match the achievements of the two great forwards. If Messi will always by number one in Guardiola's eyes, the manager did say that he gets more smiles from Haaland.
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"Haaland is always happy, always smiling," said the City boss. "Messi scored two but not three and was a bit sad because he didn't score the third! Erling is all the time in an incredible mood.
"Even in the bad moments in the beginning of this season when people said he couldn't adapt, he arrived at training with a big smile and said hi to everyone. He has had an incredible impact, not just on the pitch.
"Every day in training sessions, in the locker room. I have the feeling that he is so happy with us.
"He never complains about [being taken off]. He respects me a lot.
"After Burnley he was injured and couldn't play against Liverpool so we know him and have to take care of him. He can score important goals and win games.
"He is going to play 90 minutes but with this amount of games every three days and you have another weapon in Julian [Alvarez], who is always ready. That's why it is a big boost for us."
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