Pep Guardiola makes Lionel Messi joke about Erling Haaland's scoring records

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Pep Guardiola makes Lionel Messi joke about Erling Haaland's scoring records

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola joked that he substituted Erling Haaland in Saturday's 6-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup as he didn't want him to break another record of Lionel Messi's.

The Norwegian striker continued his fine debut season in England by netting his sixth hat-trick for the Cityzens on Saturday evening.

This treble came just days after he put five of Man City's seven past RB Leipzig in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.

That haul meant Haaland joined Messi as the only two players to have scored five goals in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

While the 22-year-old went in search of a double hat-trick, Guardiola substituted him with just under half an hour to play, prompting conspiracy theories on social media that this was to preserve Messi's place in the record books.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola joked that he substituted Erling Haaland in Saturday's 6-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup as he didn't want him to break another record of Lionel Messi's.

The Norwegian striker continued his fine debut season in England by netting his sixth hat-trick for the Cityzens on Saturday evening.

This treble came just days after he put five of Man City's seven past RB Leipzig in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie.

That haul meant Haaland joined Messi as the only two players to have scored five goals in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

While the 22-year-old went in search of a double hat-trick, Guardiola substituted him with just under half an hour to play, prompting conspiracy theories on social media that this was to preserve Messi's place in the record books.