Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed that star striker Erling Haaland promised to win the Champions League title for the club when he signed last year.
City secured their first UEFA Champions League title earlier this month when they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the final. That title win ended years of agony for Pep Guardiola’s side, who had had several heartbreaks in the competition prior to the win in Istanbul.
Haaland played a huge role in City’s run to the final, finishing top scorer in the competition with 12 goals.
Speaking about his side’s Champions League win and the impact of Haaland on the club, the Man City chairman revealed that the Norwegian had promised that he would help the club win the UCL in his first season.
“What an addition he has been,” Chairman Khaldoon told City’s official media.
“Going back to that conversation. So this was my first conversation post him signing the contract. But what amazed me about Erling is his confidence. He’s got something special, confidence with respect. And to be having that conversation post signing your contract with your Chairman and saying at the end of that conversation, ‘Mr. Chairman, I’m going to win the Champions League for you. I’m here to win the Champions League for Manchester City, and we’re going to win it this year is really a testament to the greatness of this player. And to show you where Erling is going, this is the beginning. And the scary part, this is just the beginning for him.”
Haaland scored 51 goals in 52 matches in his debut season for Man City, setting a new record of 36 strikes in a Premier League season. He also equalled Lionel Messi’s record of five goals in a Champions League knockout match when he scored for City against RB Leipzig in March.
Khaldoon underlined the striker’s hunger and desire to be the best.
“Well, that’s the beauty of Erling is that he’s a champion. He’s never satisfied. If it’s one goal, if it’s no goals, if it’s two goals, if it’s five goals, even five goals,” he said. “And I remember when he scored five after the game, he was telling me, ‘Yeah, but I should have scored another three or four’, genuinely not joking. Like in his mind, he knows, ‘I should have probably scored seven that night or even eight that night’. That’s that winning mentality. That’s that winning recipe which you know is intangible. That’s the intangible, the anomaly that makes you great. And in Erling, I think this club now, we have an unbelievable, unbelievable player.”
