Pep Guardiola claims Erling Haaland deserves to win the Ballon d’Or – but so does Lionel Messi.
Haaland has been nominated for the coveted prize after scoring 52 goals in Manchester City’s treble-winning campaign.
Yet City boss Guardiola has always maintained his former Barcelona talisman, who inspired Argentina to World Cup success in 2022, is the best player he has ever coached.
Guardiola said: “I always said that the Ballon d’Or had to be of two sections – one for Messi and one for the others.
“Haaland should win. We won the treble because he scored 52 goals but, of course, Messi – his worst season is the best of most players. Both deserve it.
“Egotistically, I would say I want Erling because he helped us to achieve what we achieved, I would love it, but I won’t tell you it’s unfair if Leo wins.
“It’s nice that many players for Man City will be there for the first time in many years and challenging for these trophies. That makes us so proud for our organisation.”
Champions City are hoping to get back to winning ways in the Premier League this weekend after losing their two matches prior to the international break to Wolves and Arsenal.
They face a tough challenge, however, with Brighton the visitors to the Etihad Stadium, and Guardiola has been highly impressed by their performances under manager Roberto De Zerbi.
Guardiola said: “He’s converting Brighton into a top club. (Alexis) Mac Allister and (Levi) Colwill have gone but they continue to play at a good level.
“Last season was really good too. They qualified for Europe and but for some decisions against them in the last games they could fight to be champions.
“It is one of the toughest tests we have this season and we are going to try and go for it.”
City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who has struggled for game time under Guardiola, this week admitted he needs to play more at club level to retain his place in the England squad ahead of Euro 2024.
That has increased speculation he could leave in January and Guardiola, speaking at a press conference on Friday, did not rule out that possibility.
He said: “The transfer window is over, now we are here together. When we need a game with transitions or games with something with chaos Kalvin is perfect.
“When there is something you need to do, there are still one or two players who can do it better. That’s the simple reason.
“He will be here until winter. After, I don’t know what will happen because nobody knows once the window is open.”
Guardiola admitted it was “so important” Rodri returned this weekend after the influential Spain midfielder was sorely missed during his recent suspension.
Rodri incurred a three-match ban after being sent off following a confrontation with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White last month.
Guardiola said: “Rodri has to learn. We have to control our emotions and stand up and go. I’m pretty sure he will learn.”
Mark Clattenburg leaves consultancy role with Nottingham Forest
Mark Clattenburg has resigned from his role as a refereeing consultant with Nottingham Forest, saying his presence had become a "hindrance" to the club.
Retired Premier League referee Clattenburg – who oversaw the 2016 Champions League final and the showpiece game at Euro 2016 – began the role in February.
The appointment was roundly criticised but Forest – who have seen a number of debatable decisions go against them this season – said it would aid their understanding of the decision-making process and improve dialogue with refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
However, Clattenburg has continued to attract criticism for taking on the role, which intensified when Forest reacted to a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton by accusing Stuart Attwell – who was on VAR duty – of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.
That came after Forest had seen three penalty appeals knocked back at Goodison Park, and Clattenburg avoided condemning Forest's statement in the aftermath of the controversy.
On Friday, Forest released a statement from Clattenburg, who defended his decision to take the job but acknowledged it had created unforeseen difficulties.
Clattenburg said: "It is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between Nottingham Forest and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help.
"It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits.
"Such reactions and outcomes were not expected and are regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game."
Marco Reus to leave Dortmund after 12-year-spell with boyhood club
Marco Reus will leave Borussia Dortmund when his contract expires at the end of the season, the club have announced.
Reus, a Dortmund native, first joined the club in 1995 and spent 10 years in their youth ranks before joining Rot Weiss Ahlen, who he left for Borussia Monchengladbach in 2009.
After three impressive seasons with Gladbach, Reus returned to Dortmund in a €17million deal in 2012 and has made 424 appearances for the club across all competitions.
That puts him fourth in BVB's all-time charts behind Michael Zorc (561), Mats Hummels (504) and Roman Weidenfeller (445), while his 168 goals in black and yellow have only been bettered by Alfred Preissler, who scored 177 in two spells between 1945 and 1959, before the Bundesliga was founded.
Reus, who has won the DFB-Pokal on two occasions with Dortmund and helped them reach the Champions League final in his first season upon returning in 2012-13, was also club captain between 2018 and 2023.
As news of his impending departure was made public, he said his full focus is on ensuring his final game with the club is June's Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.
"I'm incredibly grateful for and proud of this special time at my club Borussia Dortmund," the 34-year-old said.
"I have spent more than half of my life at this club and enjoyed every day, even though there have of course been difficult moments too.
"I already know now that I will find it difficult to say goodbye at the end of the season, and yet I'm happy that there is now clarity and that we can focus fully on the very important final games that we still have to play.
"We have a big objective in our sights that we all want to achieve together. To do so, we will need every single one of our unbelievable fans, to whom I would like to express my sincere thanks for their unbelievable support over the years."
Reus came on as a late substitute as Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Wednesday, with Niclas Fullkrug scoring the only goal of the game.
Kompany wants to write names into the Burnley history books
Vincent Kompany challenges his players to ‘remain in the club’s history’ as they continue their fight for Premier League safety.
The Clarets are welcoming Newcastle United to Turf Moor on Saturday following an impressive run of form that has seen them lose just one of their last eight matches.
Burnley remain two points from safety with three games remaining, though that could change if Luton Town beat Everton on Friday.
Kompany was full of praise for the work his team has done to keep them within reach of the teams above them, highlighting the opportunity the next three games pose.
"It’s so rare in life that you get opportunities to have a significant moment like this, but these guys will have the opportunity in the next three games," Kompany said.
"It’s as big an opportunity as you get. Getting to the wire and having something to play for, that’s one of the most powerful things you can do in this game.
"Every season I feel needs to matter and you can make it matter by doing something special in the next three games. I want every player in the team to believe, individually, they can have a moment."
Newcastle head into Saturday’s match following an impressive 5-1 win over Sheffield United that ultimately relegated the Blades.
Eddie Howe’s team are still in the hunt for a top-seven finish but have struggled to get results away from home this season.
He said: "For me I always tried to focus on the game and not where it is played.
"I urge my players to do the same. In the last few games we have shown flashes of being back to our very best. I want to see that for 90 minutes if we can."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Burnley – Zeki Amoundi
Amdouni is Burnley’s joint-top scorer in the Premier League this season, along with Jacob Bruun Larsen and Lyle Foster with five goals each. The Clarets have the lowest scoring top scorers of any side in the competition this term.
Newcastle – Anthony Gordon
Gordon has 10 goals and nine assists in the Premier League this season – the only Newcastle players to reach double figures for both in a single campaign are Andrew Cole in 1993-94 (34G 13A) and Ruel Fox in 1994-95 (10G 11A).
MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE UNITED WIN
Following their five consecutive Premier League wins over Burnley, Newcastle United will be looking to win six in a row against an opponent for just a second time, also registering six wins against Spurs between 2006 and 2008.
However, Newcastle have lost eight of their last 11 Premier League away games; since the first match of this spell in November (v Bournemouth), only Brentford (10) and Sheffield United (nine) have lost more times on their travels in the competition.
Meanwhile, Burnley have won just two of their 13 Premier League matches against Newcastle United (D4 L7), losing the last five in a row. They have never lost six in a row against the Magpies in their league history.
Burnley, though, have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games (W2 D5), picking up more points in this run (11) than their previous 20 league matches prior (nine – W2 D3 L15).
Newcastle have scored 74 Premier League goals this season, only netting more in 1993-94 (82). Their record of 2.2 goals-per-game is their most in a top-flight season since 1951-52, when they scored 98 in 42 matches (2.3 per game).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Burnley – 25.2%
Draw – 27.9%
Newcastle – 46.9%
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