Haaland & De Bruyne asked to be SUBBED OUT?! 👀 'WHAT IS GOING ON?!' - Steve Nicol | ESPN FC 

Exactly if this were TenHag, the Medias would have buried him there😂

Real Madrid made Them Quit

In the 2014 World Cup final Schweinsteiger played the last 10 minutes with blood on his face. There are levels to this game.

Pep throwing the players under the bus to deflect his decisions, Dani was struggling for a while before he said im done & it was clear for all to see... both the players in question looked fine up until they came off

Even if they asked to come out Pep should’ve protected his players in this situation. Bro it’s the UCL QF against Real Madrid in your house and you’re tired? Those Madrid players were dragging but they survived. If true that embarrassing.

This just shows how much of greats messi & cr7 were, i miss messi & cr7 😢😢😢 glad i grew up in that era of football all killers

If this was mbappe, you would not hear the end of it.

Why isn't pep being blamed for this. He just put them under the bus

Pep and Haaland probably had a massive argument behind the scenes

so when a player wants to come in and play would pep just play him? i think he needs to take full responsibility of those decisions and not throw players under the bus

How do you get tried from ghosting?!

What’s more painful is neither Arsenal nor Liverpool can take advantage of City’s crumble. The current top 3 are so wounded from Europe.

they need to learn from carvajal

It’s crazy the way different managers are treated in the media. Pep won’t get any slack for this, the same when he called Kyle Walker out saying he’s not good enough to play the inside full back, the same way he called out Kalvin Phillips for being fat… remember the reaction when Ten Hag didn’t start Jadon Sancho because he didn’t train to the level he expects. The media wanted to kill him 😂😂😂😂

Why are these guys hyping Haaland like crazy after a loss...like he was electrifying throughout the match

The question the Panel should be asking is . Why didn’t 1 single reporter in Pep’s presser follow up and ask was it an injury , or fatigue? Media not doing there job

De bryne was so tired he couldn't run anymore,he left everything on the pitch

The pressure got to them in the most important moment

He is the coach and he decides who plays or not, that's not an excuse

Pep throwing his players under the bus.

crazy how u can blame haaland so much. is he messi or cr7 ? no ofc not he do not have the skill. but he is a amazing stiker debut season won evrything whit a lot of goals ? why blame him is anazing striker not messi junior lol

Not a fan of MC, but Haaland is an amazing player that keeps all defenders extremely busy. What happens is that the pressure is high, and the first rate teams now know how to play Pep's team. It is also known that Haaland and KDB had fights with Guardiola in the past, badly managed by Pep, unfortunately. But these amazing two fellas will win the PL in some weeks, and that's going to be a great consolation because the PL is the best league in the world.

Yes Haaland’s form has not been as good as he has been last year. But he is still the best #9 in the world. People are forgetting he is only 23 years young and he broke almost every record he could last season in his FIRST season in the prem. He’s top class. City is currently not playing to his strengths and are honestly letting him down. He’s not getting crosses into the box, they are not trying to play him in… if i was Haaland i’d come out and say im not happy with this current play style.

What about the possibility of Pep trying to find somebody else to pass the blame on? This is ridiculous from a coach to say it publicly. He has let them down big time. And even in the extremely unlikely possibility of the players asking to be subbed, this is a private matter that Pep should have dealt with inside the dressing room and not in a press conference! This is a clear case of passing the buck and a coach making villains out of players and sabotaging them

I dont think its a tired thing it was honour as they realised they werent doing enough to change the game and maybe someone coming off the bench could.

Pep threw his stars under the bus

I don’t think haaland enjoys his football at city. Yes he scores bags of goals but the style city use hinders his abilities which makes it seem like he disappears but really, they don’t play to his strengths… the only time they put a decent cross in for him he hit the bar. Other than that they pass it up and down outside the box for majority of the game until the mids crack a shot or play one twos with each other

Steve is a class act. Almost made me spit out my water in the first 1 minute

Why is this a big deal? We don't even know the context or the reason?

To be fair, Haaland has even said that "i'm getting old now" since about three years ago

Well said Nadim Well said shaka

I do not see anything wrong with Pep coming out and saying the players asked to be substituted, a few days ago Rodri said he wanted a rest and nobody had a problem with that. Is it that people want to hear it from the horse's mouth and not from Pep. We should take into consideration that Kevin just come back from an injury, its possible that his body could not take it anymore.Imagine if Rodri had told Pep in private that he needed a break and Pep resting him in that Luton game and city ended up on the losing side, people would be blaming Pep 100%.We have to accept that Football players are not Robots they also need a rest otherwise we will end having players collapsing during the game.

Unless Pep is already thinking of next season; making them look less than giving 100% so there won't be uproar when he sells them both preseason.

Speculations and hypotheticals🤦🏽‍♂️

Kevin argument it's Euro year KDB maybe wants to win something with national team and don't want to get hurt again Erling argument I tried for 180 minutes and failed. Extra 30 minutes won't make any difference...

Its the boss aka Peps decision who is going off or not. Dont put this on the players. He should have been clear about needing both KDB and Haaland for penalty. Its his leadership that failed here. When Haaland went off RM had it much easier defending. It was a mistake to take him off. Peps mistake

You need to have a thick skin around Steve 😂🙌🏾

The way pep answer that issues blaming player is bullshit he make a big mistake bcoz in extra time we all can see real Madrid playing for penalty went press conference the reporter don't ask that question why you blaming player not yourself pep crazy statement

i can understand kdb being tired he recently just came back from an injury and is an older player. haaland asking to be subbed out is strange though

KDB never asked to be subbed. He is the epitome of a winner.

Ghosting in crucial moments/games like these is what partly contributed to Halaand losing the 2023 Ballon d'Or to Messi!

How is it possible Holland cant continue; that's impossible

They are both tired, he's not giving them enough rest and this is the result

If you're 3-0 up against luton sure but coming off against Madrid in the CL is insanity

Pressure to much for soem players

Halaand just wanted to get out of Rudigers Pocket 😂

I think Pep wanted to try something different - they'd been ineffective.

yeah man was kind of right. He aint running much supposely he could still play. But for me probably he tired got tightly marked by Rudiger a lot. Same goes on KDB. He also gave tf up.

Pep has earned that trust? Nah im not buying it.

Haaland left after the first 90... De Bruyne coming off a serious injury scored the goal to force extra time and left in the second half of extra time…major difference.

Yeah I found that real uncanny why they would ask themselves to sub off. And the players who turned up for penalties were crazy. We know Ederson has fantastic football skills but Rodri not turning up was bizarre. But all these aside Real Madrid are mentality monsters. And Football Heritage is a real thing.

As a League 2 striker, Haaland simply didn’t feel comfortable playing in that game.

Don't forget, 66% MC possession. Too bad possession doesn't win games.

They were tired...end of story... don't make a fuss of things like this

Making millions if tell that to my boss all be fired 😂

Pepe’s system doesn’t pass up the middle to the strikers. It is side to side and back again.

Rightfully so! Alvarez should've started.

LOL, first time I’ve heard any ex-athlete or even any sports commentator say “ bemusing.” Shaka is AWESOME'!!!!!

sometimes i disagree with stevie but this one a hard yes!!!!! unheard of a "superstar" to come off the field and let alone be ineffective ingame

Haaland was tired? He walked a lot i guess, but it felt like most of the match he walked.

Madrid too high intensity for them

The funny parts is that the same pundit comparing Haaland with Messi for Ballon de ouro ` What a jock `

Haaland asked to be subbed off? Doubt it. He was not doing his job so fair enough

Maybe they were upset with Pep’s strategy

Allowing Rodri to take a break set up a trend it seems.

He lies all time. Walker was never injured. He played 120 minutes. KDB was did vomit last week.

Will they give Jose the benefit of trust?

So good to finally listen to Gabby without that clown jules spoiling it.

Pep sub the guys because they were not playing to the tempo that he wanted..so playing so is like asking to come off...

Haaland was clearly frustrated - profiled like Messi in big CL games - hope he breaks this pattern b4 it's too late.

Injury and fatigue is what substitutions are there for 😂😂. I would rather players go off, than try to play injured or fatigued. The media and numpty's acting like they're robots and not human beings. Haaland and KDB have both been struggling with injuries and match fitness. I know having a go at City players is popular, and gets views, but its a high level of stupidity to suggest injured/fatigued players shouldn't ask to be subbed off 😂😂😂.

W stevie , W ESPN

De Bruyne yeah, but Cyborg nah not in a million years

So is it true?

Some body simply said his players ask for changes that they are tire you guys are out here arguing saying is a lie so what is true now what you are saying or what ?

I think Pep is bullshitting.

if that was Bruno Fernandes or any United player, they would tear them to shreds

I wanted haaland subbed out in the 80th. Alvarez is a better option. We would've scored and not had to do added time and penalties

Nah don’t believe him lol

115 charges

Pep has credibility from winning. ETH needs to develop his man-management skill.

Halland never turns up in the big games,facts🧐

Pep can be a bit cheeky at times, it is a cultural thing imo - he is not always very direct in his communication. He said because he thought he protected them in that way. In his history he fell off with many of his star players, especially those who knew that they are special. You could see it coming with deBruyne in the recent sub offs. He wasn't happy and I don't think they really like each other anymore. What Pep and Mourinho have in common is that they burn their relationships just to squeeze out some more from the players. He wants them angry so they perform at their limit by turning that anger into positive energy on the pitch, which can be quite exhausting for them.

All 3 players already played games every 3 days and have upcoming Chelsea and EPl in coming days. Fresh legs made alit of sense and to protect DeB, Haaland etc. Basic good management and trust between Manager and Players !

Haaland and De Bruyne are propably getting sold this summer anyway. Pep even said Haaland dont fit his tactics.

Im as BAFFLED as Steve.

Man city players playing matchea every 3 days and madrid players were chilling after 9 days holidays.. No wonder they are tired...

Pep should have told De Bruyne and Halaand to f-off. Quarter Final against Madrid are you serious.

Its more a pep excuse to remove the blame on his stupid setup towards this game and to distract yall from the fact tht rodri is hurendus in the champions league against teams in the qurta finals and semis 😂

I don't want to see KDB's name next to ANY best midfielder of all time chat PL or otherwise.

Pep does not want Haaland in his team. It’s clear Haaland is the antithesis to the way Pep wants to play and believes it disrupts the entire team to fit him in to the way they play…

Erling haaland was tired? Tired of what? Doing nothing?

Thomas Tuchel did a similar thing in 2016 in the DFB Pokal final between Bayern and Dortmund. The game went to penalties and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was the star striker for Dortmund that season, did not want to step up. Tuchel okayed it and instead a defender took his place and missed his shot and Dortmund lost the shootout. Afterwards Mkhitaryan was completely ripped apart by the fans and media, and had to leave the club that summer because the fans never wanted to see him in a Dortmund jersey again after this display of cowardice. It was also one the main reasons that convinced people that Tuchel was not the right manager for Dortmund; he was fired a year later.

Pure deflection. People idolize Pep but he's a smug clown a lot of the time. He made two bad choices and they lost simple as that. There is zero world Haaland and KDB asked to come off.

Hasland didn't run. Could not have been tired

Pep realize that he wasn’t going to score an it was heading to penalties he has control of the league title cus it’s in his hands and has to win games but the champions league he had no control of an he knew his squad wasn’t good enough to battle on both ends he throw in the towel to go for the league

Haaland & De Bruyne has been soccer punched by Mike Tyson

They were tired, they are playing a game every 3 days. Understandable.

This highlights the contrast between a European royalty club like Real Madrid & a plastic oil club like ManCity. Players at Madrid play for the badge, the club's rich history & the passionate fans, whereas ManCity players play for the oil money.

Wow, Haaland was supposed to be the next GREAT STRIKER. Now look at him, neutered, useless, tired but give him props in his baby bluesssss