Guardiola rejects Haaland links: Man City can’t afford to sign Aguero replacement

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 4 min read

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has scotched rumours that the club could sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund in the summer.

It has been announced that Sergio Aguero will leave Man City in the summer, severely reducing their offensive capacity and leaving Gabriel Jesus as their only recognised senior centre-forward.

READ MORE: From Chelsea to Barcelona: Ranking the 10 contenders to sign Haaland

City have, inevitably, been linked with a big-money move for Haaland as a consequence, but Guardiola has played down the chances of his side signing the Norway international – or anyone else for that matter – as a replacement for Aguero.

“There is a big chance that we are not going to sign a striker for next season,” Guardiola told the media. “With the prices as they are, we are not going to buy any strikers. It is impossible. We cannot afford it.

“Every club is struggling financially, us too. We have Gabriel and Ferran Torres, who has been incredible, and Raheem Sterling as a false 9. Today, there is a greater chance that we won’t sign a striker than we wiil.”

Man City have, therefore, joined Bayern Munich in distancing themselves from the player, although there are still numerous clubs linked with him, including Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

‘Aguero is irreplaceable’

Indeed, the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich head coach indicated that the Argentine veteran is irreplaceable.

“We know how important a player Aguero is in the present and the past,” he added. “These decisions are never easy.

Aguero’s Man City record

“He is almost impossible to replace in terms of his statistics. But in terms of what he means to this club, he cannot be replaced.”

Aguero will leave Man City after a decade of service, in which he has become the Premier League’s record foreign goal scorer, racked up more hat-tricks than anyone else in the history of the division and netted an iconic league-winning goal in the 2011/12 campaign.