Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has responded to claims by Real Madrid President Florentino Perez who suggested that if he had been signed the Norwegian he would have to sit on the bench as he would be behind Karim Benzema in the pecking order.

As reported by Express, the Manchester City striker told the September 2022 edition of FourFourTwo:

“It happens in football.

“I like to have a laugh myself, but I don’t think too much about outside talk. I can’t. It means I’m not focusing, and I’m not at my best. It’s good to have some fun, though.”

Meanwhile, Haaland recently spoke about his admiration for the Los Blancos captain and named him as the player he’d love to emulate.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, the 22-year-old said (via the Manchester Evening News): “I don’t know what will happen, but it must always be about learning, about developing. You can never stop looking for new ways to become better.”

He added, “Look at Karim Benzema at Real Madrid. He’s 34 now, and suddenly he’s developed into an even better player over the last couple of years – that is insanely good. I want to always do that.”