Erling Haaland’s Manchester City progress will be down to Pep Guardiola’s ego, says Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while the striker also thinks Kylian Mbappe made a mistake staying with Paris Saint-Germain.
Norway international Haaland arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the latest transfer window from Borussia Dortmund and has so far lived up to the hype surrounding his signing.
With 22 goals in a total of 15 games between the Premier League and UEFA Champions League, the sky seems to be the limit for the striker this season.
But veteran Milan forward Ibrahimovic, who is a fan of the Leeds-born forward, fears his progress could be scuppered by Guardiola, a coach he failed to bond with at Barcelona.
“Can Guardiola make Haaland even stronger? It depends on Guardiola’s ego if he lets him become bigger than him or not,” the Swedish international told Canal+.
“He didn’t let me, me [and] others to get bigger. Not only me [but] many others [too]. I like Haaland a lot. I think he’s a very intelligent player. to do things he’s not capable of.”
Ibrahimovic also weighed in on future PSG striker Mbappe, whose future is still hotly speculated.
The French striker extended his stay at the Ligue 1 champions, rejecting a move to Real Madrid but reportedly saw his working relationship at the club subsequently fall apart.
On whether he should have moved to LaLiga, Ibrahimovic added: “He made the right choice for Paris, not for himself.
“He put himself in a situation where he’s more important than the club. Then the club gave him the keys to it. But you’re never bigger than the club.”
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