“I Didn’t Want Him Breaking Messi’s FA Cup Record” - Guardiola on Haaland

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has poked a little fun at some ‘supporters’ and journalists on social media by claiming he withdrew Erling Haaland to protect Lionel Messi’s FA Cup record.

The Norwegian start hit five against RB Leipzig on Tuesday evening before being withdrawn, prompting some on social media to make some outrageous accusations about Guardola’s motives. The claims centred around Guardiola wanting to protect Messi’s record of five goals in a single Champions League match and therefore brought Haaland off to prevent him from breaking it.

And, in his post-match interview after the blues had hammered Burnley 6-0, Guardiola claimed he took Haaland off so he didn’t break Messi’s FA Cup record. “I didn’t want him to break the record for Messi in the FA Cup,” Guardiola said with a wry smile. “I try to punish my players. It is my intention”

City fans have long suspected the Catalan boss is a secret Twitter user, and their theories will have been backed up by the boss’s latest comment. It’s not the first time Guardiola has had a quip at fans who seem to think they know how to manage the club better.

Following City’s 1-0 win at Chelsea in January, Guardiola made reference to the supporters wanting to see Foden play and was the reason why the England midfielder started the match. Foden was replaced after 60 minutes by Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez scored the winner three minutes later to secure the three points, ironically from a Grealish assist.

Is Pep a secret Twitter user?