Pep Guardiola plays down his influence in Erling Haaland signing for Man City

Pep Guardiola denies he was a significant factor in Erling Haaland’s decision to join Manchester City.

The Premier League champions pulled off a coup this week when they announced they had agreed a deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign the much-coveted Norwegian striker for next season for £51million.

Offering the opportunity to work with their inspirational manager Guardiola has been cited as one of the reasons why City have been able to beat off rivals such as Real Madrid for his signature.

The Spaniard, however, is keen to play that down, believing the club is now at a level, playing such an exciting brand of football, that it sells itself.

“The players don’t come for me,” said Guardiola, who is closing in on a fourth Premier League title in five seasons. “They come to play in this league for this club.

“The economic issue is so important, but they can visualise the way we play, the team we are, the city, the league, the Champions League. Many things are involved.

“Players come here not for a few months or one year. Sergio (Aguero) came and stayed 10 years, David (Silva) and Vincent (Kompany) the same. Many important players came and stayed a long time.

“How long depends on how happy they are. What are we going to do? Make them feel absolutely happy in terms of the city, the locker room and many things.

“There are many top incredible players that could play here without a doubt, but what we want is a player who can come here and stay for many years and perform every single game as best as possible.”

Haaland, who already has a connection with City through his father and former player Alf-Inge, boasts a prolific goal-scoring record.

His signing ends City’s long search for a specialist centre forward to replace Aguero, but