‘I might upset my wife!’ – Maresca jokes about keeping Haaland happy
By Luke Oluoch, September 14, 2026Man City head coach Enzo Maresca has admitted that he might risk the wrath of his wife after his comment about ensuring lead striker Erling Haaland remains happy at the club.
Haaland has certainly started the new season in good form with five goals in his last three games prior to the Manchester derby duel.
Speaking on Sunday, September 13, 2026, after the Manchester Derby at Old Trafford, where the Norwegian’s controversial goal claimed the derby bragging rights for Man City, the coach stated the striker has been joyful since his arrival.
“In this moment, we are happy with his performance, and then the most important thing is that he is happy. You can see he is happy, not only today, even day by day in the training sessions,” he asserted.
While noting just how a content Haaland impacts the entire City team, Maresca referenced the famous rhyming proverb “happy wife, happy life” as he admitted the comparison could run him into trouble with his spouse.
‘Happy life happy wife’
“As much as we keep Erling happy, we are all happy.”
“How do you say it in English? Happy wife, happy life? We say, happy Erling, happy life. My wife, she will be upset for sure.”
Resting the goal-cyborg
On a more serious note, the coach admitted that the club will soon need to rest their goal machine after a bustling campaign that saw him return late to preseason following Norway’s run to the last eight of the 2026 World Cup in North America.
“Erling, since he came back from the World Cup, is working very well.”
“For sure, we need to think about giving him some rest at some point, because after the World Cup, he cannot continue in the same way all season,” he added.
The City attacker is the league’s leading goal scorer in the new season, having netted his ninth Manchester derby goal to reach four goals in four games.
The striker appeared to rub salt in the wounds of Manchester United following his post-match comments regarding his controversial goal that saw Manchester City claim the bragging rights in the derby at Old Trafford.
I don’t go offside!
“I think there was a flick; I thought someone had flicked it. Normally I don’t go offside. I said to Michael Oliver that I took it personally that he thought I was offside, but I looked over to Enzo and the gaffer, and they gave me a thumbs-up, and I kind of prepared myself to go and celebrate,” he said.
His remarks came before the Pro Ref admitted to making a ‘human error’ by not disallowing the goal after Enzo Fernandez interfered with the phase of play before the Norwegian clincher.