According to reports, Erling Haaland ‘will leave’ Premier League holders Manchester City if the Etihad hierarchy does not meet his ‘main condition’.
Man City paid around £51m to sign Haaland from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund during the 2022 summer transfer window.
Haaland has proven to be a huge bargain as he’s established himself as one of the best strikers in the world while he’s been part of Pep Guardiola’s side.
The prolific striker only has one goal in his past five Premier League appearances, but he still has 14 goals in his 14 appearances across all competitions this term.
Overall for Man City, he has 104 goals and 14 assists in his 112 outings in all competitions. To put it bluntly, he’s ridiculously good.
Haaland is under contract until 2027, but he has been heavily linked with an exit in recent months.
Man City still have over 100 charges of alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules hanging over their shoulders and a report in Spain claims they are in a ‘compromised’ position heading into next summer.
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Head coach Pep Guardiola’s contract expires next summer and he’s ‘not made a decision about his future’.
As for Haaland, he has reportedly ‘put his cards on the table’ and said Guardiola staying is the ‘main condition for him to continue at Man City’.
Should the former Barcelona or Bayern Munich boss move on, the striker ‘will leave next summer’ as his ‘stance’ is that he’s ‘not prepared’ to carry on at the Etihad if the head coach exits.
The report also claims Haaland is ‘clear about his next move’.
‘Should Guardiola decide not to renew and leave the club, Haaland is already clear about his next move: he would look for a change of scenery, and the destination that most attracts him is Spain.
‘On more than one occasion, the Norwegian has expressed his admiration for La Liga, and both Real Madrid and Barcelona would be delighted to receive a player of his calibre.’
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‘This would put the City management in a compromised situation, which would be forced to look for a technician who manages to convince the striker to stay or, otherwise, face a significant loss both in terms of sport and finances.
‘The summer is complicated for Manchester City and its fans, who now have to wait for Guardiola’s decision to know if they can continue to count on the unstoppable Erling Haaland.
‘The situation becomes uncertain, but something is certain: without Pep Guardiola , the Norwegian has already decided that his time in Manchester will have come to an end.’
Haaland failed to score at the weekend and was spotted limping during Man City’s surprise 2-1 loss at AFC Bournemouth. Despite this, he starts against Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League group stages on Tuesday night.
During his pre-match press conference, Guardiola was asked for an update on Haaland. He bluntly said: “He’s fine.”
He continued: “Manu [Akanji] and Nathan [Ake] are still with problems. Kevin [De Bruyne] is getting better, he’s having sessions with less and less pain, so we feel that he feels more comfortable. That is good news for all of us.
“Kyle [Walker] as well has had problems with his knee since he was with the national team. [Jeremy] Doku has had a little problem with muscular issues, Savinho is getting better with his ankle. The rest are fine.”
