The 21-year-old joined the club from Borussia Dortmund in a €60m deal last month as one of four summer signings was announced to hundreds of fans gathered outside the Etihad Stadium. – Transfer cards: Man City score so far – Sources: Chelsea interested in Man City’s Ake And when asked which team he was most looking forward to playing with, Haaland replied: “I don’t want to say the words, but… Manchester United.” Haaland was linked with a move to Old Trafford at one stage, but his father, Alf-Inge, played for City in the early 2000s and admitted to owning Sergio Aguero shirts, claiming the club’s all-time top goalscorer is a role. role model for him. But when explaining why he chose to join City, the Norwegian forward recalled an experience with Dortmund against Pep Guardiola’s side in last year’s Champions League quarter-final. “You see something on TV and when you actually meet it it’s completely different,” he said. “I felt that. All of a sudden I didn’t touch the ball for 25 minutes in the game. I was like, ‘Please [Ilkay] Gundogan, stop playing tiki-taka all the time.” “It’s a different level, I must say. How they approach the game, how they play, how they create chances. This is what I want to be a part of. “At the end, I just had a feeling in my stomach. The feeling, the way they play, everything, I just had a feeling for City.” Erling Haaland was unveiled to Manchester City fans alongside Calvin Phillips, Julian Alvarez and Stefan Ortega Moreno outside the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC Haaland eased the pressure on himself to help City retain their Premier League crown and end their wait for a maiden Champions League trophy. “With me as a striker, I want to have fun. When I have fun, I score goals. I smile, I enjoy football and everything. In the end I just hope to smile a lot,” he said. “It’s a big challenge, a new country, a new league, new manager, new everything. But I know what it’s like to come to a new club. I’ve done it a few times before. So I’m really looking forward.” Haaland was unveiled alongside Julian Alvarez, Stefan Ortega Moreno and Kalvin Phillips, although Phillips was unable to attend the event in person due to illness. Alvarez, a €17 million signing from River Plate, explained his desire to follow his country’s predecessors — including Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta, Carlos Tevez and Nicolas Otamendi. “Manchester City has a long history with Argentine players before I came here to create my own history, reach the top and continue my own path,” Alvarez said. “Playing a lot and contributing to my game, I want to win trophies, I want to win the Premier League, the Champions League and all possible trophies.” Reserve goalkeeper Ortega Moreno, who signed on a free transfer from Arminia Bielefeld, said: “I see a big opportunity here to gather new experiences. My old team is not a big team in Germany, so this year is a really big opportunity to play at one of the best clubs in the world. I will try to push Ederson to a new level.”
