City’s rivals face £200m reasons to be rattled
Pep’s league leaders win race for Europe’s hottest property Haaland
MANCHESTER CITY have won the race to sign Erling Haaland in a stunning overall package worth in excess of £200million.
The Premier League leaders have officially triggered the £64m release clause in the Borussia Dortmund striker’s deal, beating their Champions League conquerors Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to the 21-year-old superkid.
Haaland will be one of City’s top earners on a basic salary of £400,000 a week, on a par with Kevin de Bruyne and ahead of Raheem Sterling as well as Jack Grealish.
The Norwegian will sign a five-year deal, which will earn him a whopping £104m, with add-ons and performance related clauses set to take City’s overall outlay through the £200m barrier.
After Haaland opted for City over Real and personal terms were agreed, the English champions notified Dortmund of their intention to trigger the player’s release clause.
Haaland is understood to have passed a medical yesterday, with the forward keen for the deal to be made public as soon as possible so he can say a formal farewell to Dortmund fans before the end of the season. Given City are getting £180m-rated Haaland for around a third of his market value, they have agreed to make him one of their highest earners – despite his age and relative inexperience – with the potential to become the club’s biggest if he hits certain clauses.
City moved for him after failing to land Harry Kane last year, with Tottenham wanting around £150m. Haaland and his father, former City and Leeds midfielder Alf-Inge, assessed all options for the next stage of his phenomenal career and were ultimately swayed by Pep Guardiola plus his style of play.
They felt the gaffer’s style not only best suited Haaland’s own way of playing but that the club represented his best chance of sustained success in what will arguably be the peak years of his career.
Haaland began his career at Norwegian clubs Bryne and Molde, then spent a year at Austrian outfit Red Bull Salzburg before joining Dortmund in January 2020.
The hitman, who has plundered 85 goals in 88 appearances for the German giants, had the pick of Europe’s top clubs for his next move but opted for a City outfit who will be chasing their first Champions League crown.