Erling Haaland bagged his 100th goal for Manchester City this weekend – but he could stick to his plan to leave the club within the next year.
The unstoppable striker scored in City’s controversial 2-2 draw with Arsenal after only nine minutes on Sunday. In an early meeting between the title contenders, Haaland’s goal was reminiscent of his Borussia Dortmund days as he sprinted between defenders to slot the ball past David Raya. City eventually claimed a point against the 10-man Gunners thanks to John Stones’ last-gasp equaliser.
The opener on the day was a landmark moment for Haaland, who reached a century of goals for Pep Guardiola’s team in just 105 games – a scoring record only equalled by Cristiano Ronaldo’s run to 100 goals for Real Madrid.
The Norwegian forward arrived at the Etihad after City won the battle for his signature in 2022, triggering his £51million release clause. But Haaland initially did not plan to see out his five-year contract.
City are keen to offer Haaland a new deal, with his current contract claimed to include a £175million release clause. While the striker’s thinking may have changed, his father and ex-City midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland previously revealed that his son was unlikely to spend longer than four years in the Premier League.
“I think Erling wants to prove his abilities in all leagues,” Alf-Inge said on ‘Haaland: The Big Decision’ documentary in 2022. “Then he can stay there (City) for three or four years at the most. He could be, for example, two-and-a-half years in Germany, two-and-a-half years in England and then in Spain, Italy, France, right?”
Ahead of moving to the Premier League champions, Haaland Snr listed the clubs that were interested in the star striker. “On our list, I think City is the best team,” he said. “[Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four.
“We also have some English teams other than City who are quite good. Liverpool and Chelsea. Also, there is Barcelona. They are sort of in the same row.”
Real Madrid have been consistently linked with a move for the striker, though the Spanish giants’ signing of Kylian Mbappe means there is arguably little room for him. That has not stopped Real legend Guti calling for Haaland to join the new-style Galacticos.
“I would bring Haaland to Real Madrid,” Guti said. “He’s been outstanding for a few years now and I just hope he’s Florentino’s [Perez] next target. It would be very good for our football.”
However, transfer speculation and the noise around a potential new contract have not proven to be too much of a distraction for the City striker. Haaland netted his 10th league goal in five games at the weekend as he chases down his own Premier League season record of 36.
