Alfie Haaland lashes out at former rival Roy Keane and his ‘agenda’ after Irishman calls son ‘no better than a League Two player’ despite Man City striker leading the way of the goal classification.

Alfie Haaland has spoken out in defense of his son Erling Haaland in light of criticism leveled at him by Jamie Carragher and his former rival Roy Keane.

The Manchester City striker is once again top of the Premier League goalscoring charts this season, with 17 goals, one ahead of Ollie Watkins.

However, after drawing in last month’s goalless draw against Arsenal, Roy Keane sensationally described the Norwegian’s overall play as a “League Two player”.

Jamie Carragher then hit out at Haaland after Manchester City’s 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in midweek, suggesting the striker is one of the world’s great goalscorers but is not “of world class”.

Now Haaland’s father, the former City and Nottingham Forest midfielder, has backed the striker in defending his record at the club.

Haaland’s overall game has been on target despite him topping the goalscoring charts again

Roy Keane called Erling Haaland’s all-round game the standard of a Ligue 2 player

Talk to Viaplay Football he said: “Then you have the background of Keane and other experts, who may have a slightly different agenda.”

“They probably think it’s a bit normal to offer that (criticism). But the team wins and Erling is still the top scorer, so it can’t be that bad.

Alfie Haaland infamously clashed with Roy Keane on several occasions during their playing days.

In 1997, while playing for Leeds, Haaland’s tackle on the Irishman saw him rupture his cruciate ligament, leading to Keane openly seeking revenge on the midfielder.

Four years later, during a Manchester derby, Keane dug his studs into Haaland’s leg and the collision ultimately led to his retirement the following season.

Keane admitted in his autobiography his intentions towards his rival and was fined further and banned from contesting and admitting.

Erling Haaland has 30 goals in all competitions this season, taking his career tally at Man City to an impressive 82 in 90 appearances for the club.

In the build-up to today’s clash with Luton, the 23-year-old’s manager Pep Guardiola also defended his striker, insisting how good Haaland has been since joining the club.

Jamie Carragher used his column to suggest Haaland is not a world-class footballer

Roy Keane and Alfie Haaland clashed several times during their playing days

Erling’s father played for City and Nottingham Forest when he was playing in the 1990s.

“He helps us create more space in areas and his contribution has been exceptional since the first day he arrived,” Guardiola said.

“They (the experts) do what they want. This is not a problem. They have an opinion, I have an opinion and it doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad.

“If I give an opinion, I feel like I want to criticize the experts, but I don’t. We can agree or disagree.

The Spanish boss was responding to Carragher’s comments following the Champions League clash at the Bernabeu.

The former defender wrote in his Telegraph column: “Erling Haaland is the ultimate luxury footballer. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest scorers in the world, but he has not yet become a world-class player.

“If his only interest is in breaking goalscoring records, he doesn’t need to change anything. If he has serious ambitions of winning the Ballon d’Or and playing for Real Madrid, he might have a problem.

“He needs to add more to his game to take that step and seriously challenge his rival for the title of best player of his generation, Kylian Mbappe.”