Manchester City boss Pep Guardioa revealed what Erling Haaland is likely to do during the mid-season break for the World Cup and joked he want the striker to lay off the food and drink and come back fit to spearhead the club’s hunt for trophies in the second half of the season.
Norway’s Haaland, who has scored 22 goals in 15 games across all competitions so far, will not be heading to Qatar for the Nov. 20-Dec. 18 tournament after his country failed to qualify.
Instead, he will have a break between the last round of Premier League fixtures, on November 12 and 13, until it restarts again on December 26.
City fans may be a little happy that he’s not actually going to the tournament as it gives him a chance to rest up and then hit the ground running after Christmas.
Guardiola expects him to head for Marbella, but joked that the No.9 will have to lay off the food and drink if he wants to arrive in peak condition to pick up where he left off.
“He will be in Marbella or Norway. It depends on how he behaves in Marbella as to how good he is for the second half of the season,” Guardiola told reporters on Monday. “He will play golf, hopefully not eat and drink much and come back fit.
“He is so smart. A part of that is his work ethic. He is one of the first to arrive and one of the last to leave. He looks after his body perfectly. He is well educated in the way he has to live as a professional and he has the intent to get better.
“I didn’t know how good he was moving in small spaces in the box, he scores a lot in the box. He goes away from the action to be closer to the goal, these kind of moments are not easy for a striker.”
