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Which record? Haaland warns he can get even better / Photo: © AFP
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Which record? Haaland warns he can get even better
Erling Haaland has warned opponents he is still not the finished article despite his phenomenal goalscoring record for Manchester City.
The Norwegian forward, who faces former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday, has netted a staggering 26 goals in 16 games for club and country this season.
Former England striker Alan Shearer said last month that if Haaland stays long enough, he will "no doubt" shatter his own all-time Premier League record of 260 goals.
Haaland, 25, was asked at City's pre-match press conference on Tuesday whether he could beat his record for goals in a season.
"Not to sound arrogant, but which one?" he asked.
The reporter clarified that he was asking about Haaland's tally of 52 goals for City in 2022/23, when the club won the Treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
During that season, Haaland's first in England, he scored 36 Premier League goals -- setting a new record for a single campaign.
The marauding 1.95-metre (six feet, five inches) striker admitted he was "in a good way" this season but said he was more focused on the team than individual records.
"I can't think about records I can break," he said. "That's the last thing I think of. I try to help the team win football games. That's my job and that's my main focus.
"I know it's boring. I know you want me to say the complete opposite, but that's not how it is."
In a scary message for his opponents, Haaland said he was improving as a player, adding that he had been working on his headers.
"I think you can always get better and better," he said. "So there's something I try to practise still and you can see I'm getting better and better and there's still a long way to go."
City boss Pep Guardiola made Haaland part of his leadership team this season and described him at his own press conference on Tuesday as a "real world-class player who is incredibly humble".
"I know he wants to score goals, but I have the feeling he always wants what is best for the team," he said. "And that is difficult to find.
"He has this ability, talent, kindness, whatever you want to say. Of course he has to score goals, that's the best way to help us, that is perfectly clear, but he signed a contract for 10 years and he is involved in many things."
Haaland himself, who became a father last year, said he was "still the same kid", just with more experience.
"I'm still the same kid in some situations, and I'm still that kid from Bryne (in Norway), but with much more experience in life," he said.
B.Johnson--SFF
