Erling Haaland has been warned by Zlatan Ibrahimovic not to allow Pep Guardiola’s “ego” to derail his career at Manchester City.
Haaland has been arguably the most in-form player in world football since he arrived at the Etihad, notching a remarkable 17 Premier League goals in 11 games. The Norwegian has already scored 22 goals in all competitions, having played just 15 games this term.
City paid £51million to sign Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer transfer window and the 21-year-old quickly proved he could settle into Guardiola’s side, who had often played without a central striking option in recent years, and often with great success.
However, Ibrahimovic has warned the Norwegian that Guardiola could have a negative impact on his career, potentially drawing upon his own experience of the Catalan coach. The Swede worked alongside Guardiola for one unhappy season in 2009-10 at Camp Nou before joining AC Milan after the relationship broke down spectacularly.
Ibrahimovic was furious his time at Barcelona did not work out and has previously claimed he was sacrificed to allow Lionel Messi to occupy his role through the middle. The former Sweden captain subsequently had a falling-out with Guardiola as the two clashed in their professional relationship.
Asked for his view of Guardiola back in 2016, Ibrahimovic was dismissive of his former coach and said: “A lot of things have happened from that time until now, so how he works today I don’t know – and I couldn’t care less because he’s not my coach.”
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Ibrahimovic began talking about Haaland on Canal Plus by offering praise for the Norwegian: "I like him a lot, he is a very intelligent player, he doesn't do things that are not within his reach. He does not go down to play the ball, he waits in front of the goal and scores.
"He reminds me of former players like (Filippo) Inzaghi, (David) Trezeguet and (Christian) Vieri. In fact, it's a new version of all three."
However, the Milan veteran then continued by going on the attack against his former boss. He added: “Is Guardiola able to improve him? That depends on the ego that Guardiola has. If he allows himself to be bigger than Haaland or not. He didn't allow me or the others to be as big."
