Pep Guardiola has denied claims Erling Haaland has a release clause in his Manchester City contract that would allow him to join Real Madrid on favourable terms.
Haaland has been outstanding since joining City from Borussia Dortmund at the start of the season, netting twice against Copenhagen on Wednesday to take his tally to an astonishing 19 in 12 games.
But before that game, Fernando Sanz – a former Madrid player and later the president of Malaga – had suggested Haaland's deal had an "exit clause" with "very beneficial conditions" for Los Blancos.
Haaland joined City after they activated a clause in his Dortmund contract, but Guardiola insisted after the Copenhagen game there was no truth in the claim.
"It's not true," he told reporters. "He has not got a release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. It's not true. That's all I can say.
"Absolutely not [it is not annoying]. There are rumours and people talk, and you cannot control it. We always have to worry about what we can control.
"The important thing is he can adapt really well, I have the feeling he is happy here. We tried with him and all of them, the people who stayed here, and made them happy. This is the most important thing.
"At the end, what's going to happen in the future? Who knows it? Nobody knows it.
"What's important is he's happy and settled perfectly and incredibly loved by everyone. This is the most important thing."
Haaland was substituted at half-time in the 5-0 win at Copenhagen, missing the chance to score another hat-trick after three in his past three home Premier League games.
Guardiola said the change was not planned, as he explained: "He played a lot of minutes three days ago, the game was under control, and Cole Palmer [his replacement] is an excellent player, a top-class player.
"If the game was tight, Erling would continue to play. But it was better to rest and to think of Southampton, a team we were not able to beat last season. Hopefully this season we can do it."
Guardiola added: "Erling Haaland, what does he want? The same as us; to win the game. He made the hat-tricks to win the games."
Of the performance, in which an own goal, a Riyad Mahrez penalty and Julian Alvarez's close-range finish added to Haaland's double, Guardiola said: "Today we see the reason why these years were really, really successful at this club.
"After Man United, 6-3, a lot of compliments, a lot of nice things, we were able to be humble enough to respect the opponent like every team we play. This is the secret of this team."
Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup said his team "have to improve" but accepted: "There was not anything we could do to City.
"There were of course things we could always do better, but we just need to accept we were playing against the best team in the world right now. They are several levels above us."
Borussia Dortmund receive injury boosts ahead of Champions League semi-final
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Marcel Sabitzer and forward Donyell Malen are likely to be fit in time for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at home against Paris Saint-Germain, coach Edin Terzic said on Tuesday.
Dortmund will also have Emre Can and Ian Maatsen back from suspension, while Sabitzer, who was out ill for several days, and Dutch international Malen, recovering from an injury picked up during the March international break, have returned to training.
"Marcel and Donyell both took part in training. We expect that they will be at our disposal tomorrow," said Terzic.
"Marcel is feeling better, and we need him in his form from before his illness tomorrow."
Dortmund have struggled in the league this season and on Saturday suffered a crushing 4-1 loss to direct rivals RB Leipzig, who held on to fourth place, leaving them in fifth with three matches remaining.
The top four teams qualify for the Champions League group stage next season.
Germany is likely to earn a fifth spot as one of the top two in UEFA's coefficient table depending on the remaining results in European competition this season.
Dortmund's deep Champions League run this season, however, has kept fans hopeful of some silverware.
The sides also met in the group stage, with the French side winning 2-0 in Paris before a 1-1 draw in Dortmund.
"You could sense in the return leg that we had learned the lessons from the first game," Terzic said.
"Now PSG look to be at their very peak this season with only one defeat in 2024 and a good run of results. We will have to show an improved performance from that in Dortmund."
"We are confident that will show it tomorrow and next week in Paris. The clear goal is to gain a small advantage after the game tomorrow. We know we have to play at least 180 minutes at the highest level to have any shot at our dream."
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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