Manchester City want to tie star striker Erling Haaland down to a new contract in order to wipe out a release clause which could see the Norwegian head overseas
Manchester City want to tie Erling Haaland down to a new contract (Image: Adrian Dennis/AFP)
Manchester City want Erling Haaland to sign a new contract to prevent one of Europe’s elite from snaring their star striker.
Haaland, 23, has taken the Premier League by storm since joining City in 2022, winning successive league titles and leaving a host of goalscoring records trailing in his wake.
The Norwegian, who has scored a staggering 90 goals in just 98 games for City, still has three years left on the lucrative contract he signed last summer. But a release clause which would enable an overseas club to sign him for £175million is now active, as revealed by Mirror Football.
That figure will drop each summer, leaving City vulnerable to interest from abroad, so securing Haaland’s future is seen as a priority within the club.
While it remains to be seen if Haaland would entertain a move away, his father, Alf-Inge, has previously laid out the striker’s extravagant exit plan.
Speaking in the documentary, ‘Haaland: The Big Decision’, he hinted that his son was unlikely to stay in England for more than four years due to a desire to dominate Europe.
Haaland Sr said: “I think Erling wants to prove his abilities in all leagues. Then he can stay there [Manchester City] for three or four years at the most. He could be, for example, two-and-a-half years in Germany, two-and-a-half years in England and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?”
Haaland has won consecutive Premier League titles with Manchester City ( Image: Getty Images)
He also outlined some of Haaland’s potential suitors, including Real Madrid. He said: “On our list, I think City is the best team. [Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four.”
While the Spanish giants have been touted as Haaland’s most likely destination once he does decide to call time on his Manchester City career, Los Blancos’ impending acquisition of Kylian Mbappe could throw a spanner in the works.
The Frenchman, 25, is set to be confirmed as a Real Madrid player imminently after announcing his intention to leave Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract and it seems unlikely Real would be able to accommodate both him and Haaland.
Haaland’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, fuelled talk of a future move to the Bernabeu last year when she admitted that Real Madrid is the “dreamland” for all players.
Speaking at the FT Business of Football summit in London back in 2023, she said: “There is the Premier League, and there is Real Madrid. Real Madrid has something of its own that makes it the dreamland for the players. Madrid keeps this magic going. They don’t have the league competition every week, but they do have the Champions League.”