The fraternal bond between elite players has led to less and less rival banter over the past few years, but Manchester City megastar Erling Haaland is making sure he draws the line under what he believes to be silly comments from Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of Sunday’s Premier League tilt at Anfield.
Haaland used an interview with our partners at Sky Sports to shoot back at comments from Trent Alexander-Arnold on Thursday after the Liverpool star claimed that trophies won by the Reds mean more to the club and its fans than the trophies won by Man City due to the bigger budget at the latter.
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Alexander-Arnold won’t have to stare down Haaland on Sunday due to injury, but the words add further intrigue to a clash at Anfield already thick with subplots. After all, the result could be the difference in who claims the Premier League Trophy.
Alexander-Arnold’s words are sure to be echoed by many traditionalists and there’s certainly merit to the idea, although fans of other clubs would certainly view Liverpool’s big budget as no hill of beans.
And Haaland was quick to mention the treble won by Man City last season as a very good feeling.
What did Trent Alexander-Arnold say about Man City?
“It’s difficult,” Alexander-Arnold told FourFourTwo. “You’re up against a machine that’s built to win. That’s the simplest way to describe City and their organization.
“Looking back on this era, although they’ve won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fanbase because of the situations at both clubs financially — How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we’ve done it probably means more to our fans.”
Man City has outspent Liverpool by double over the last decade, but the Reds’ net spend is deeper in the red than Man City’s over the past three seasons and City’s net spend over the past five seasons lags behind Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle, and Aston Villa.
Ironically, mutual rivals Manchester United have spent more than both sides, leading City by more than 200 million pounds.
Erling Haaland’s reaction to Alexander-Arnold’s comments
Haaland’s response to Sky Sports is a throwback to the verbal firefights of yesteryear, though the Norwegian was sure to couch his comments in the ennui of superiority.
“If he wants to say that, then okay,” Haaland told Sky Sports. “I’ve been here one year and won the treble and it was quite a nice feeling, I do not think he knows exactly this feeling. So yeah, that is what I felt last season and it was quite nice.
“They can talk as much as they want, or he can talk as much as he wants, I do not know why he does that, but I do not mind.”
Liverpool have historically had a bigger following than Man City, and no one’s debating that the latter’s rocket rise to international power was aided in a big way by almost unmatched spending.
But Haaland is certainly right that it’s goofy for Alexander-Arnold to claim that City fans, players, and staff didn’t enjoy their triumphs just as much as the Reds. Victory is sweet.
