- 15 hours ago
Haaland £100m demand prompts Man City panic as Barcelona circle
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 4 Oct 2024 10:51 BST
- 2 min read
Erling Haaland wants the door to the Manchester City exit left open for him as Barcelona circle over a potential transfer.
Haaland joined City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 but has rarely seemed set on making the Etihad Stadium a permanent home, with constant transfer rumours dogging him.
In particular, the Norway international has been linked with a move to Barcelona or Real Madrid, and even with a contract that runs until 2027, the prolific hitman’s long-term future does not seem certain to be with Pep Guardiola’s club, which has a string of potentially damaging charges against them.
STATS
Erling Haaland
F (C)
Man City
Erling Haaland
F (C)
Man City
TeamTalk reports that Barcelona are keeping an eye on the 24-year-old striker with a view to making a move at some point in the future.
And it appears that Haaland wants to keep his options open for such a possibility as contract talks rage on over an extended deal with City.
It is stated, however, that talks have stalled for the moment based around one specific demand that the striker has made.
Contract talks stall
Haaland has told City that he wants a release clause placed in any new contract that is set at just £100 million (€120m).
On the other hand, the Premier League champions want this to be set at a far higher figure, aware that their star man would be snapped up at such a price.
Barcelona, who are set to put in place a deal with Nike that could significantly ease their financial issues, are one club who could make a move, although a deal in 2025 is said to be “very unlikely”.
Haaland has an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €149.3m, the second highest in the world, and so a release clause worth just €120m makes little sense from City’s perspective as it would likely mean that striker leaving well below his true worth.
