Holland moved to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund last year
Norway star Erling Holland says Manchester City signed him to win the Champions League because he already knows how to win the Premier League.
Holland, 22, scored five goals as Manchester City beat German rivals Leipzig by seven goals to qualify the English club for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Manchester City achieved its best record in the 2021 season when they reached the final of the Champions League, but lost to Chelsea.
“Of course the club wants to win the Champions League,” said Hollande.
He added, “He has won four Premier League titles in the last five seasons. He didn’t sign me to win the Premier League because he already knows how to win this competition.”
He continued, “So, we can read between the lines. I am here to further develop the club and win the Champions League title for the first time in its history.”
Manchester City’s failure to win the European title represents a major paradox, given the club’s huge success domestically.
Manchester City have won 17 trophies since Sheikh Mansour took over the club in 2008, including six Premier League titles – four of which came under Pep Guardiola in 2016.
Holland is a record holder
Holland has scored 10 goals in the Champions League so far this season, the most by a Manchester City player in a season.
He is the third player to score five goals in a match in the Champions League, after Luis Adriano, who scored five goals in a match for Shakhtar Donetsk in October 2014, and Lionel Messi, who scored five goals for Barcelona in March 2012.
Holland scored 33 goals in 25 Champions League matches, becoming the fastest player to score 30 goals in the competition’s history. He also became the youngest player to score 30 goals in the history of the tournament.
He became the second England player to score five goals in a single Champions League match after Raymond Crawford in September 1962 against Floriana at Ipswich Town.
Holland needs seven goals to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for most goals in a single season of the Champions League, when he scored 17 goals for Real Madrid.
Despite breaking many records and coming close to breaking others, the Norwegian striker believes he can do better.
Speaking to CBS, Holland said: “I knew I was going to score. When I saw them pass the ball to each other without a striker, I said to myself, ‘I want to be there.’
“But this team still has a lot of potential and I think they can show a lot of improvement. It’s easy for me to say that, but I could have scored more goals and missed a lot of chances.”
He continued, “I can be good at everything. I need to be very good — title, team play, everything.”
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