Erling Haaland starts for Man City against Brentford as striker opts not to take compassionate leave offered to him by Pep Guardiola following death of close friend

Erling Haaland was named in the Man City starting XI to face Brentford at the Etihad on Saturday despite being offered compassionate leave by his manager Pep Guardiola.

Haaland was told by Guardiola that he was be allowed time away from football following the death of Ivar Eggja – a family friend he affectionately called his ‘uncle’.

City face Brentford in Premier League action on Saturday, with Haaland bidding to score a hat-trick for the third game in a row after netting six in two games against Ipswich and West Ham.

Guardiola, speaking ahead of the game, gave an update on his star man a little over 24 hours out from the match.

‘[It’s a] tough time for him and his family,’ the Spaniard began. ‘Our thoughts are with him and his family and we’ll see tomorrow if he’s able physically and mentally to play.’ 

Haaland paid tribute to Eggja in an Instagram post on Thursday following his death at the age of 59.

Alongside several photos of himself and Eggja, Haaland wrote: ‘You are a legend, Ivar. Words cannot describe how much you meant to me! Words cannot describe how much you will be missed!

‘I don’t give a s***! I don’t give a s***! That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Thank you for everything, you madman. We will see each other again. Rest in peace, Ivar.’

Haaland trained with his City team-mates later on Thursday but Guardiola made it clear that family comes before football and would allow his star striker to miss Saturday’s home game if he wanted to.