Man City striker Erling Haaland will play no part in the Champions League winners’ Club World Cup final against Fluminense on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
Pep Guardiola’s side reached the final on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over Japanese side and AFC Champions League winners, Urawa Red Diamonds, and since Haaland was not included in the squad for the game, he cannot feature in the final due to a silly FIFA rule.
According to talkSPORT, FIFA rules state that no player who was omitted from the 23-man squad for the semi-finals are to be eligible for any future matches in the competition.
Haaland was left out of the Urawa Red Diamonds clash, alongside the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku, due to fitness issues and Guardiola will have to continue without the Norway international for a while longer.
Haaland has been unavailable due to a foot injury since Man City’s win over Luton Town on December 10 and it is believed that he is close to returning to action.
Guardiola will be thankful for the striker’s return as the Manchester club need his goals to start closing the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal.