Dominik Szoboszlai argues that his tight friendship with Erling Haaland will be meaningless when Liverpool takes on Manchester City this season.
However, Szoboszlai claims he and his friend do not discuss football when they meet, despite the fact that the £60m midfielder has disclosed he is now a neighbor of last season’s Premier League Golden Boot winner.
Szoboszlai and Haaland became friends during their time at Red Bull Salzburg, and the Reds midfielder has kept a close eye on his friend’s progress since he left for Borussia Dortmund in early 2020 before joining City last year.
The 22-year-old, who joined from RB Leipzig in early July, sought advice from Haaland, which included buying property in the North West before moving to England, and while they remain close, Szoboszlai admits that will mean little when the two clubs meet for the first time on November 25 at the Etihad.
“Yes, Erling came here and demonstrated himself, scoring more than 50 goals in a season,” Szoboszlai stated. “I knew he’d do it because I knew his quality and what he’d done for this.” What he did last year, he will most likely continue. But I intend to stay with my squad. We’re good buddies, but I’m looking for myself.
“We didn’t discuss [where we’ll finish].” We won’t since my conversation with him isn’t about football.
“You don’t have to understand [what we’re talking about].” He knows my family, and I know a little bit about his family. We discuss how they are and how he is. Everyday things, not football, a little outside. However, football does occasionally appear. So it isn’t always football.
“He’s probably two houses down from me.” We were talking, but they had the [Super Cup] final in Greece, and we had our trainings and away games. It will take time for us to find a solution and see each other. We’ll see.
“He is a really good friend of mine, but I don’t care about that for the next 95 or 100 minutes.” He probably doesn’t care as much. This is typical. I’m hoping for myself and my teammates to pitch in, and if I can score a last-minute goal, I’ll be even delighted.”