The Million Dollar Question: Did Pep Guardiola bust Haaland for not breaking Messi’s record?

Erling Haaland continues to make its way into football history. The 22-year-old striker got all the flashes after marking him five goalsin just 35 minutes, to Leipzig in Germany for the round of 16 of the Champions League and equaled Lionel Messi’s record for scoring a re-poker in a knockout match in the biggest European continental tournament. Similarly, when the fifth goal came and the Norwegian still had about 30 minutes to get past Rosario on a night in which he was unmanageable, Pep Guardiola he decided to replace him with Julián Álvarez at 5pm in the second half. Did he want to take care of the Argentine champion’s brand?

It took eleven years for anyone to succeed in doing what seemed difficult to repeat. The Argentine number 10 had scored 5 goals (as they say in Spain) against Bayern Leverkusen in the 7-1 victory of the 2010/2011 Champions League round of 16, in 59 minutes. The difference is that Norwegian he needed 25 less to equal that mark and took all the numbers to convert at least one more time, but the desire to enter the history of said competition remained. The common denominator? Both were directed by Guardiola in their respective party.

When the fourth referee showed the number 9 off the field, surprise invaded each of the fans and viewers. Criticism of the Spanish coach came quickly for not allowing the android they continue to stand out and many accuse him of having made a maneuver so that his player does not exceed Rosario’s record.

“If he (Haaland) hits that record at 22, Your life will be very boring. Now you have a goal for the future. Here or anywhere. That’s why I made the change. I didn’t know it with Messi, like he did against Leverkusen, but I made the switch because normally when the game is over I want everyone to play. The most players,” Pep said after the match to explain the reason for the substitution.

And aware of his ability as a goalscorer in the squad, he added: “Erling has an incredible talent. If he had played 90 minutes, Who knows how far it would go?However, in his Barcelona DT days, Pep had shown devotion to the figure of that night against Leverkusen: “I can always say that I managed Messi. Pelé, Maradona, Di Stéfano and Cruyff had the throne; Now it’s his.”

Similarly, Haaland also commented on the dialogue he had with his coach after being replaced and continuing to have “a boring life” that doesn’t seem to worry him, on the contrary his mind only thinks about converting: “My superpower is to do goal That’s why when he took me out I told him I would have liked to score a double hat-trick after scoring five goals against Leipzig”.

Despite being lit up on a dreamy night and Pep “preventing” him from continuing to score goals, the forward highlighted the team’s effort and didn’t want to miss the help of his team to be able to take the ball from the match : “The truth that I love the European Champions League and that’s why scoring five goals to win 7-0 seems incredible to meeven if my interest is not to be on the front page of the newspapers but for the team to win, because the truth is that I don’t even remember what those goals were like, because actually converting them is my superpower, because in reality I don’t think about it, but I just do them.”

Despite equaling an unimaginable record to repeat, and even surpassing over time, Erling still appears to have fallen short of the roof. In just eight months of his arrival in Manchester, It already accounts for 2% of the goals City have scored in their entire history. Now the Norwegian is already thinking about Saturday’s duel against Burnley in the Premier League.