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Manchester City have a four-man leadership group this season and Pep Guardiola added Erling Haaland to it in the summer.
Pep Guardiola decided to add Erling Haaland to Manchester City's leadership group after the striker signed a nine-and-a-half year contract at the club in January.
The 25-year-old was a new addition to that group this summer as Guardiola dispensed with tradition and decided to appoint his own captain and leadership group.
Guardiola named Bernardo Silva as club captain, with Ruben Dias, Rodri and Haaland making up the rest of the leadership group. With Silva's contract due to expire at the end of this season, there could be another captain appointed next term.
Haaland showed his leadership credentials on Sunday with an heroic all-action display against Manchester United at the Etihad, scoring twice but also contributing defensively as he headed several crosses away in just one short passage of the game.
Guardiola said Haaland had been promoted to a leadership role with a view to one day being captain after signing that deal until 2034, but also believes the Norwegian had shown increased maturity since his 2022 move from Borussia Dortmund.
"It's a question of time. It’s normal," said Guardiola. "When you arrive in the first seasons, he came to a team that was winning a lot and helped to bring the Champions League to us.
"It's a question of time and maturity. he is a little older, he's one of the captains, he signed a contract for many years to be here and that's why [it's] a natural way. Normally your figure in the locker room is winning on the pitch and it happened in a natural way."
City start their latest assault on the Champions League against Napoli on Thursday. With eight league phase fixtures scheduled, Guardiola will try and resist the desire to rotate his squad, insisting the four games the Blues played in the Club World Cup aren't entering his thinking.
There is also no plan to try and protect Haaland, who is City's only fit striker at the moment as Omar Marmoush recovers from a knee injury, while Rayan Ait-Nouri, Mateo Kovacic and Rayan Cherki are also absent.
"There are players who have more tendency for injury but Erling as much as he is fit he is going to play," said Guardiola.
"The squad is really good, we just have a problem already with just 16 players. What we need is Rayan, Rayan and John to come back. When everyone comes back, the subs can make a good impact on the game. We need to make everyone involved."
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