Erling Haaland puts a brave face on Man City's horror season as he enjoys his downtime before jetting out for the Club World Cup in brutal summer
Erling Haaland appears to be making the most of his brief time off this summer after enduring a nightmare campaign with Manchester City.
The no-nonsense striker brutally admitted he and his team-mates were not 'good enough' as they went trophyless for the first time in eight years and surrendered the Premier League title to rivals Liverpool, finishing in third.
City also endured disappointment in the Champions League, having crashed out in the last-16 to Real Madrid, leading Pep Guardiola to return to the drawing board.
Already in the middle of refreshing his squad, Guardiola will shortly take his players to the United States for the new-look Club World Cup, which begins on June 15.
They won 2-0 at Fulham on the last day of the season to secure a spot at the top table in Europe but will return to action just 24 days later.
Enjoying a breather before hopping on board City's flight out, Haaland took to social media to share a photo of himself holding two large lobsters.
The simple caption read: 'Lobzter'.
Haaland is now back fit and firing after recovering from an ankle injury sustained in the 2-1 victory over Bournemouth in March, but he was powerless to prevent City from losing the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace at Wembley.
He was on target at Craven Cottage, however, and will hope to find the back of the net again as City target another Club World Cup triumph, having won it back in 2023.
In the new-look edition, City will play Moroccan side Wydad AC on 18 June, Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates on 23 June and finally Juventus three days later.
The top two teams from each of the eight groups will qualify for the knockout stages while the sides that reach the final on 13 July will have played seven games.
Exactly a month later, the new Premier League season will get underway.
Despite the gruelling schedule awaiting City's players, club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has insisted the squad will be 'hungry' for silverware in the United States.
Al Mubarak said: 'They want to come back, and they want to come back hungry. I can see the hunger and these players, they want to come back to pre-season.
City could play as many as seven games at the Club World Cup in a breathless summer
'Normally these players are off and they're starting to think about vacation time etc. Honestly, every player I spoke to was telling me, we're coming back.
'We're ready to come back in three weeks' time. I was speaking to Rodri as an example, he's looking for games. Erling didn't want to go on vacation.
'He wanted to stay with the physios and prepare for next season. That's the attitude you want and that's exactly why you see me so positive.
'We're going to come back strong, with a lot of positivity.'
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