Manchester City have completed the signing of highly sought-after striker Erling Haaland, beating the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona to the Norwegian superstar’s signature. The Cityzens announced this deal on Tuesday, the day before their 5-1 thrashing of Wolves, thus bringing an end to months of speculation.
While hefty agent fees and a sign-on bonus were dished out, the transfer fee in isolation cost the Premier League leaders only £51.1M, which translates to roughly $62M. To put this into perspective, this is in the region of what the defending champions earned from the sale of Ferran Torres to Barcelona.
Several sources, including transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, revealed after the confirmation that Haaland’s desire to move to the Etihad Stadium was not simply due to money. Manchester City have offered him £375,000 per week, which is what Kevin de Bruyne currently pockets, but the Dortmund ace could have earned this at Real Madrid as well.
Instead, the decision to join Guardiola’s side was mainly due to the attractiveness of the ongoing project there. This season, the English giants look set to lift their fourth league crown in five years, showing their dominance.
Nonetheless, fans might start questioning Haaland’s loyalty to his upcoming employers as rumors of a release clause in his Manchester City contract have emerged. This is according to Bild, as per Get German Football News.
The tabloid claims that the striker will have a €150M release clause (£128M/$156M) in his contract. Additionally, the report adds that this clause will come into effect after only two years, which would guarantee an exit should he decide to join another club, i.e. Real Madrid or Barcelona.
However, as this is a rumor, it should be taken with a pinch of salt. City have secured his services until 2027 and it would be surprising to see the mega-rich club accept the idea of Erling leaving two years into his five-year contract. Nonetheless, like Haaland did when he agreed to join Dortmund, the 21-year-old could have just secured his escape route should he decide to leave the Etihad Stadium.
