Pep Guardiola is reportedly determined to hold on to his star striker, Erling Haaland, amid growing interest from Real Madrid.

According to Pete O’Rourke via Football Insider, Pep Guardiola has no intentions of letting Erling Haaland leave Manchester City anytime soon. The Spanish manager is desperate to keep one of his best players at the club, amidst interest from European giants Real Madrid.

Haaland made a name for himself at Borussia Dortmund before joining Manchester City in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth €60 million. The 25-year-old striker has been on fire since joining Pep Guardiola’s team. He has been involved in a total of 150 matches for City, and he has contributed towards 150 goals (129 goals, 29 assists).

The goal machine has started the new season in fine fashion with five goals in four league outings. While Guardiola’s charges have not been at their best over the last 12 months, Haaland has still been one of their standout performers.

Following their struggles in the 2024/25 season, Manchester City have undergone a rebuild, parting ways with experienced campaigners like Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker. After already losing key players, Guardiola has no intention of letting someone like Haaland leave in the middle of this process.

O’Rourke’s take on Erling Haaland to Real Madrid

While speaking on the Inside Track podcast, O’Rourke said, “You wouldn’t have thought so, but there’s always linked with Real Madrid and Haaland. He’s the best striker in the Premier League, his goalscoring record tells you that, and Guardiola does not want to lose him in the middle of this rebuild at Man City.

“They’ve lost some big players already, the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Kyle Walker and others, and he’ll be desperate to keep Haaland as he aims to get this team back to where they were a couple of seasons ago, winning everything on offer. 

“It’s no surprise Real Madrid are interested in him, they would love the opportunity to sign Haaland and pair him with Kylian Mbappe. But Man City aren’t going to be entertaining any offers for him and will be confident they can keep hold of the Norwegian.”

Haaland will continue at Manchester City

Amidst a lot of talk about his future, Erling Haaland penned a new nine-year contract with City at the start of the year. The former Borussia Dortmund striker is now tied to the club until 2034. Despite that, he still ends up getting linked with Real Madrid, who are believed to be a dream destination for the 25-year-old.

Even Los Blancos are very keen on signing one of the best forwards in the world, as Florentino Perez dreams of pairing him up with Kylian Mbappe. While the team in white have the financial strength to strike a deal with Manchester City, the Premier League giants have no intentions of negotiating his departure anytime soon.

Even if Real Madrid knock on their doors in the near future, Guardiola’s team won’t entertain any proposals. Manchester City are confident of keeping hold of their star forward as they plan to get back to their best after a disappointing campaign last time out.