Haaland is not the best signing at Man City under Pep Guardiola

Norwegian striker Erling Haaland turned out to be only ranked 8th in the list of the best players at Man City under coach Pep Guardiola.

Man City is said to have the best squad in the world currently, especially after winning the historic treble last season. Erling Haaland played an important role in that achievement, scoring 52 goals in 53 matches in all competitions in his first season at Etihad Stadium. Several other players signed under Pep Guardiola also made great contributions. A question arises here: So who is Man City’s best signing under Guardiola? It is important to know that stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero and David Silva all signed contracts before Guardiola arrived at Man City in 2016.

The Athletic newspaper recently ranked all 29 players bought after the Spanish coach took over Man City. This ranking takes into account the value of players and their contributions over a long period of time, rather than selecting purely based on quality. Accordingly, Norwegian striker Erling Haaland turned out to be only ranked 8th in the Top 10 best contracts at Man City under Pep. This is because Haaland only “stirred up the final third of the field while the others helped Man City really explode all over the field”. Midfielder Rodri is third on the list and Bernardo Silva is second, while the top spot belongs to Ilkay Gundogan.

German midfielder Gundogan is Guardiola’s first signing at Man City. Considering what Gundogan did in the following 7 years, the £20 million fee that Man City paid to recruit this midfielder is too good. As well as helping bring control of the pace of play to City’s midfield, the Germany international has scored some of the most important goals in City’s history, such as the 12th second goal on MU net in the 2022/23 FA Cup final.