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

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 of the last five years has emerged ahead of the current Premier League's top two clash at Anfield on Sunday.

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“If he wants to say that, fine. I've been here for a year and I won the treble and it was a pretty nice feeling, I don't think he knows exactly that feeling,” Haaland said on Sky Sports on Thursday about City. Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League triumphs last year. “So yeah, that’s what I felt last season and it was pretty 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 it doesn't bother me.”

City have won 14 trophies since Pep Guardiola took over as manager in 2016, compared to Liverpool's seven since Jurgen Klopp took charge 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 were more valuable.

“Looking back on those times, even though [City] “We have won more titles than us and have probably been more successful, our trophies will mean more to us and our fans because of the financial situation of both clubs,” he said.

“The way both clubs have built their teams and the way we have done it probably means more to our fans. It's difficult. We are facing a machine designed to win – it's the easiest way to describe City and their organization.

Liverpool lead Man City by just one point with 11 games remaining heading into Sunday's match. This will be the final Premier League meeting between the two clubs with Klopp in charge after announcing he would step down at the end of the season.

Scrutiny of City's spending under its Abu Dhabi ownership has intensified after the club was accused of 115 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018. The Premier League said a hearing date had been set fixed, but did not reveal it publicly.