Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City's success over the last decade has seen them build the 'charisma' of European giants like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, which gave them the advantage when it came to signing Erling Haaland.
City won the race to sign Haaland for just £51m this summer, beating competition from Bayern, Real, Barcelona and others like Chelsea and Manchester United. In his first three Premier League games, he has contributed three goals, one assist, and also won a penalty.
Reflecting on Haaland's start, Guardiola says the very fact that City were able to persuade him to sign ahead of those other big clubs is a reflection of the Blues' ever-growing brand.
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"We cannot deny how incredible the numbers and his talent is," Guardiola told Football Focus.
"What I saw of him so far is a huge competitor and every training session is incredibly focussed to do it, no doubt about that. We had a lot of legends here, for Sergio, his contributions have been... the way we are right now, Sergio, Vincent Kompany, Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, David Silva, many of these."
Asked whether those City greats were different because they became legends at the club rather than arrived as world-class talents, Guardiola agreed, and pointed to this summer's tour of the USA as evidence of their growing global appeal to players and supporters.
He said: "Maybe you're right, we could not do it and they choose another club because the charisma of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich is higher than us because we are new in the hierarchy of Europe, just one decade, and they are long histories.
"We know most players or strikers they will come here, that is the proof we have done really well. I remember in pre-season in the States five or six years ago there were few blue shirts in the stands. These games against Bayern Munich and Club America was a lot.
"That means the people follow us, people follow the winners and we won a lot these past years. The people support us all around the world and that is incredible. A big honour to be part of this success."
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