Haaland responds to Trent: Doesn't know how treble feels

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March 7, 2024, 5:59 PM ET
3 min read

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has responded to Trent Alexander-Arnold's claim that Liverpool's trophies mean more than City's, saying the defender doesn't know what it feels like to win the treble.

The provocative back-and-forth between England's two most successful teams over the past five years has emerged ahead of the current Premier League's top two facing off at Anfield on Sunday.

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"If he wants to say that, OK. I've been here one year and I won the treble and it was quite a nice feeling, I don't think he knows exactly this feeling," Haaland told Sky Sports on Thursday of City's Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League triumphs last year. "So yeah, that is what I felt last season and it was quite nice.

"They can talk as much as they want, or he can talk as much as he wants. I don't know why he does that, but I do not mind."

City have won 14 trophies since Pep Guardiola took over as manager in 2016, compared to Liverpool's seven since Jurgen Klopp took the reins at Anfield a year earlier.

But in an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Alexander-Arnold said the relative spending power of the two teams meant Liverpool's titles held more value.

"Looking back on this era, although [City] have won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fan base because of the situations at both clubs financially," he said.

"How both clubs have built their teams and the manner in which we've done it, probably means more to our fans. It's tough. We're up against a machine that's built to win -- that's the simplest way to describe City and their organisation."

Liverpool lead Man City by a single point with 11 games remaining going into Sunday's matchup. It will be the final Premier League meeting between the two clubs with Klopp in charge after he announced that he will step down from his role at the end of the season.

Scrutiny over City's spending under their Abu Dhabi ownership has intensified after the club was charged with 115 breaches of financial rules from 2009 to 2018. The Premier League has said a date for the hearing has been set though has not revealed it publicly.