Manchester City fans will have to get used to speculation surrounding Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian sensation is arguably the best goalscorer on the planet, having plundered 90 goals in just 98 appearances for City so far. This, after hitting 86 in 89 games for Borussia Dortmund and 29 in 27 for RB Salzburg.
Haaland is a footballing superstar.
What he has achieved in his short career so far is astounding, and he now carries a huge profile as a result.
As such, speculation has followed Haaland for years.
There is always talk of a potential move to Real Madrid, and the player’s agent Rafaela Pimenta has been speaking about her client.
Erling Haaland is ‘1000% committed’ to Manchester City
Haaland joined City two years ago from Dortmund, with City paying around £51 million to the German club.
There will have been plenty of other costs involved in the deal, as rival fans so often love to point out, but he has been an absolute bargain.
Pretty much for the whole of his career so far, Haaland has been linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Real are arguably the biggest club in the world, and they would love to sign a player of Haaland’s stature. But of course, they have just signed Kylian Mbappe, which probably puts a potential move for Haland on hold for quite some time.
Rafaela Pimenta, a Brazilian lawyer who now advises Haaland after the sad passing of Mino Raiola in 2022, has been speaking about Haaland’s future. And her words will have City fans feeling fairly assured.
She was asked if Haaland could remain at City for the rest of his career, to which she replied (via Flashscore): “I don’t know – but I think the Erling Haaland project will last over time, over the next few years.
“It will also depend on trends in football. In any case, one thing is certain today: Erling Haaland feels at home at Manchester City! He is one thousand percent committed to the City project and is already looking forward to the new season with the club.”
Haaland will be at City for a while yet
Haaland is surely going to be staying at Manchester City for quite some time.
Supposedly, he now has a £175 million release clause in his contract that foreign clubs can trigger, but Haaland would of course have to give the green light himself.
There will be very few clubs in the world who can afford him.
Real Madrid would potentially be one, but as mentioned already, they have signed Kylian Mbappe, and it feels unlikely that Haaland would want to become his teammate given they expected to be long-time Ballon d’Or rivals.
Haaland staying at City for the rest of his career feels unlikely though. Ultimately, he is ambitious and he also did leave the door slightly ajar earlier this year with some comments he made about his future.