Pep Guardiola has admitted he was stunned to hear Erling Haaland had committed his future to Manchester City until 2034.
Haaland's nine-and-a-half year contract extension at Manchester City will see the superstar earn more than £200million if he stays until the expiry of his contract.
The Norwegian penned the Premier League's biggest ever contract and the release clauses removed from his extension now make things incredibly difficult for potential suitors.
When asked about his reaction to the news, Guardiola told Sky Sports: 'When Ferran told me, I said: 'Sorry, can you tell me again!?' Because I couldn't believe it. It's never happened before. Then it happened, but I don't think anyone pushed the other. I think both [parties] wanted it.
'It's great news for the club, I hope [and expect] he is happy, otherwise he wouldn't do it. It is very important to have this incredible talent, this unique player and striker for the club for the next ten years.
'He wouldn't sign a contract if he couldn't visualize his future as a footballer at this club, and the potential and the challenge here – that would be impossible. I am very happy, especially happy that he did it for us at an easy time in terms of results.
“And to do it at this moment, I think, means a lot for the confidence in everyone at this club. He knows in ten years' time – I don't know what will happen – but he will have different backroom staff and players.
'So I think he will sign because he obviously sees City in the Premier League and sees the potential [and] that the club has been at the top for many years.
'I think the fact that he enjoys playing in the Premier League is a great compliment to the Premier League, to the whole organisation, to everyone, and he wants to play for the club for many reasons: incredible clubs, incredible teams, annual it gets better every year, and that's it.'
City's outgoing director of football, Txiki Begiristain, also welcomed the announcement.
“Everyone at the club is absolutely delighted that Erling has signed his new contract,” he said. “The fact that he has been signed for so long shows our commitment to him as a player and his love for this club.
“He has already made an incredible impact in his time here and his amazing numbers and records speak for themselves.
But beyond his extraordinary natural talent and abilities, Erling's dedication, professionalism, humility and desire to keep getting better sum up what we are all trying to achieve at Manchester City.
'He is one of the best strikers in world football, but Erling is still very young and will only improve under Pep and his coaching team.
“If he works hard, and I'm sure he will, he will leave an incredible legacy at this football club. Now he can focus on his game and continue to play a big role in helping us achieve even more success.”
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