Erling Haaland has insisted "that's not my job" in response to criticism of his all-round play.
The Manchester City goal machine has repeatedly come under fire for his work on the pitch aside from putting the ball in the back of the net. It was particularly highlighted during a recent runs of five games without a goal for club and country, with Pep Guardiola benching him in last month's 4-1 victory over Aston Villa.
Ally McCoist labelled his technical ability “bang average” on talkSPORT after Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane had brutally compared his overall game to that of a League Two player following their goalless draw with Arsenal.
Haaland has now hit back at those comments, saying that he's in the side for very different reasons. He told Men in Blazers: "There’s always been this discussion on how many times I should touch the ball.
"When I score, no one thinks about this, and when I don’t score, suddenly people start to mention my touches. This is a part of my life, this is how people will speak.
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"I cannot control what people say about me. I just have to focus on what I should do on the pitch, and my job is not to be like Rodri, to control the game.
"It’s being in the box and up front for City, finishing the attacks and that’s my focus. I don’t care about what people say or anything, it’s about focusing on helping the game, helping the team to win."
Haaland has come in for heavy criticism of his all-round game from pundits this season (Getty Images)Haaland went on to explain that he can impact a game off the ball, not just on it, and he doesn't judge his own performances based on the time he has it at his feet over the course of 90 minutes.
"In the end you can also play football with not touching the ball," he continued. "It sounds funny for someone but you can actually do that with movement, and also the mental part, and also the awareness of being on the pitch is also a huge part of the game.
"It’s not only about touching the ball, of course you have to touch the ball but I don’t know much more to say, I know my role in this team and that’s my focus."
Haaland leads the Golden Boot race, four goals ahead of Cole Palmer on 25 after his quartet of strikes against Wolves last week. City travel to Fulham in the early kick-off on Saturday before a trip to Tottenham in midweek, looking to potentially wrap up a record-breaking fourth straight league title at home to West Ham on the final day of the season.
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