Haaland contract bombshell: Man City 'come to terms' with huge decision

Tom Weber

• Updated: 15 Nov 2024 14:48 GMT
• 4 min read

Manchester City are 'increasingly confident' that Erling Haaland will sign a new contract, but they have 'come to terms' with the fact that they won't be able to remove his release clauses, according to a report.

Ever since the Norwegian joined the Cityzens in 2022, there has been speculation about his next move. Haaland was an instant hit at Man City and broke record after record in his first season, convincing the club that they need to hand him improved terms.

Haaland's current contract contains multiple release clauses that decrease year upon year. It has been claimed that starting from 2025, the striker will have a clause worth €175 million or €200m in his deal, but there have also been reports that the figures involved are actually closer to the €100m region.

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Whatever the case, as things stand, City can simply be bypassed by Haaland's suitors if they put the money on the table and trigger his clause. Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid view the 24-year-old as a dream target and the idea of playing in Spain, a country he has spent a lot of time in ever since childhood, appeals to the player.

Man City close in on Haaland deal

Talks with the player's representative Rafaela Pimenta have been ongoing for the best part of two years, but according to Graeme Bailey, Man City are finally growing increasingly confident that the Norwegian will commit his future to the club.

“City are confident about agreeing terms. They’ve been trying for two years. Obviously, the issue has always been the release clauses, which are not going to be removed from the contracts in any way, shape or form. It’s not going to happen. City have come to terms with that.

“Their hope is that they can be altered in terms of when they come into play. If he signs a new deal for instance in the next few weeks or months, which City hope, that will, from my understanding, mean it won’t be allowed to be triggered until 2026 rather than 2025.

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“They’re not massively worried as the clauses are going to be huge anyway for teams to meet that. And Haaland has always had these in, they make sure these are in there for the long-term safety of the player.

“It’s just the situation that every contract Haaland has ever signed has had release clauses and that’s not going to change for this one. It’s nothing to do with him, or an exit strategy or anything like that, it’s just how they work.

“City, from my understanding are increasingly confident that he’ll agree. Obviously [Ferran] Soriano is very busy with [Pep] Guardiola as well. They think Haaland will commit to a new deal.

"Obviously it will involve a huge wage increase for him, but money wasn’t really the issue particularly. It will at least extend his stay in the short-term and completely put an end to any talk he may go in the summer.”