Manchester City fans have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relays an update on the club’s pursuit of Borussia Dortmund superstar Erling Braut Haaland.
The Norwegian marksman has been widely tipped to seek a new challenge elsewhere ahead of next season, with Manchester City joining a whole host of top clubs with a shared interest in securing his signature.
Having missed out on a deal for Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane earlier this year, the Norwegian goal machine is reportedly next Pep Guardiola’s ‘primary striker target’ as he looks for a new No 9 after the departure of Sergio Aguero last summer.
City may well have signed the very promising Julian Alvarez on deadline day of the January transfer window, but that deal has far from satisfied the Blues’ appetite for a new elite striker.
Haaland is widely understood to have a clause in his Dortmund contract that will allow him to leave for a bargain figure in the summer transfer window. A release clause believed to be in the region of £65million will likely prompt a bidding war come the end of the campaign.
But Guardiola long-running feud with Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola meant Man City were always at a disadvantage in race for the Borussia Dortmund striker.
Guardiola’s bitter row with Raiola began when Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the outspoken agent’s many clients, fell out of favour during his one and only season at Barcelona in 2009/10.
Over the years, Guardiola and Raiola have made their animosity well known. The fact that the two have been at loggerheads is hardly disguised with both exchanging blows publicly on a slew of occasions.
According to Sport as relayed by Sport Witness, with Pep Guardiola’s ‘bad’ relationship with Mino Raiola, Man City had banned signing any players managed by the agent.
However, the report claims Man City are now ready to change their stance and the ‘ban will be lifted’ to make an Erling Haaland deal possible.
In light to the update on Haaland, many Man City fans have reacted – here are some of the best responses.
We’ve literally signed Raiola clients under Pep, what kind of nonsense is this https://t.co/hSaIXaU2Mk
— ً (@Raheem7ii) February 11, 2022
This is total bollocks, there has never been a ban on signing players from any agent.
— MCFC Salt Miner (@mcfcsaltmine) February 11, 2022
Give Pep the keys and let him do what he wants
— TΩP Gün 🇦🇱 (@Stoneporte) February 11, 2022
I don’t care of haaland i just want pep to stay
— City4pep (@City798) February 11, 2022
Yes, this Is just nonsense from spanish media to keep barca fans happy as long as possible. Mino just wants money he doesn’t care about his relationship with Pep as long as City’s offer Is attractive and Pep doesn’t negotiate players’ contracts so why would that care
— Was (@UnMijis) February 11, 2022
Absolute nonsense. Please don’t post anything from Sport
— Baldiola (@TeacherOfBall) February 11, 2022
This is purely to keep Spanish fans interested for clicks. Absolute nonsense. Raiola even said himself we’re one of the very few possible destinations for Haaland.
— Jack Ryan (@D2588Ryan) February 11, 2022
They did not ban players managed by him surely. We had sandler at the club who’s agent is Raiola and surely if that policy was in place he’d have been transferred ASAP https://t.co/NolVaYiM6s
— TJ (@_TJ932O) February 11, 2022
