Markus Babbel: Staying at Borussia Dortmund better for Erling Haaland than going to Manchester City
By Tushar Bahl
Former Bayern Munich and Liverpool defender Markus Babbel believes that Erling Haaland would be better off staying at Borussia Dortmund than signing for Manchester City.
Erling Haaland appears set to leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer, with Manchester City and Real Madrid leading the race for his signature. Reports in England have claimed that Manchester City are in pole position to sign the Norwegian international. But former Bayern Munich and Liverpool defender Markus Babbel believes that Haaland is not fully suited to Pep Guardiola’s style of play.
Babbel told Sky Sport that staying at Borussia Dortmund would be better for Haaland’s development than making the move to Manchester City.
"“I would be really surprised and irritated by this move. Guardiola doesn’t really like centre forwards. I would rather say that he should stay at Dortmund. He could develop better there, because Haaland also has to play. Whether that would be the case with Guardiola, I don’t know.”“Even top strikers like Agüero or Jesus didn’t play regularly at City. I think the striker Guardiola wants has yet to be born. In addition, City plays in an extremely dominant manner. Haaland still has to learn that, to use his dynamism and find ways to score goals, even in a team that doesn’t play with a lot of space.”"
It was reported last week that Borussia Dortmund expect Haaland to leave the club in the summer, as they cannot match the high wages being offered by the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid. The two interested clubs must activate the release clause of 75 million euros in the striker’s contract before the April 30 deadline.
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said last month that he expects Haaland to make a decision on his future within the next six weeks.
Next. Four players who left Borussia Dortmund too soon. dark
Haaland has scored 80 goals in just 81 appearances since joining Borussia Dortmund from RB Salzburg for a fee of 20 million euros in January 2020. His performances have seen him attract the interest of some of Europe’s top clubs. But now it looks like there are just two teams left in the race for his signature, and the 21 year old’s future should be resolved soon.