Erling Haaland is barely three months into his Manchester City career and there’s already speculation over his future. Last week, reports from Spain have emerged indicating that Haaland has a release clause in his contract at Man City, despite Pep Guardiola insisting it does not exist. This followed closely on the heels of Alfie Haaland’s comments that they would be looking to move on in a few years’ time.
The media has capitalised on this and continuously touted Real Madrid as the destination for Haaland. With Karim Benzema expected to be on the decline by 2024, it is believed that Los Blancos will make a move for a new striker. Erling Haaland was a target for Madrid over the summer but was advised to look elsewhere considering Benzema was still in peak form.
On the Manchester City side, there has been a continuous denial of the existence of such a clause. In his last two press conferences, Pep Guardiola has vehemently denied that Haaland has a release clause in his contract saying that there is nothing of the sort. This has been rubbished in Spain with sources indicating that Madrid have been assured that the clause is in his contract for a fee in the region of €180m.
This isn’t the first time a rumoured release clause has been denied. Borussia Dortmund similarly denied the existence of such a clause in the Norwegian’s Dortmund contract but eventually sold him after City activated the “non-existent clause”. While this will be a worry for most Manchester City fans, Haaland’s blistering start to life will be a comfort for many knowing that by the time he could be on his way out of the club, he could well be a club legend.
