Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland’s release clause has been revealed amid reports Real Madrid are plotting a move for the Norwegian goal-scoring machine in the next two years, despite the player just moving to the Etihad in the summer.
There aren’t many more superlatives left to describe the brilliance of Erling Haaland. The former Borussia Dortmund star has made the Premier League look like the ‘farmers league’ that English-football fans refer to the Bundesliga as. He’s already netted an astonishing 20 goals across all competitions, including 15 in 9 Premier League appearances, on course to destroy Mohamed Salah’s record of 32 goals in a single PL campaign.
City boss Pep Guardiola has been full of praise for Haaland since his arrival in Manchester. The striker grabbed another couple of goals in last week’s UEFA Champions League group stage clash with FC Copenhagen and Pep was seen with a look of total awe on his face as a result. After the game, the coach labelled Haaland as an ‘incredible talent.’
“It came from a deflection, but he (Haaland) was exactly there,” said Guardiola during his post-match press conference.
“Why does the ball go to where he is? This is an incredible instinct. What can I teach him about being here or there?
“He has an incredible sense of strikers, that they just know where the ball is going to finish. If he goes one second before the right time, the ball won’t be there. But well, he has this incredible talent.”
Guardiola then addressed a question regarding Haaland’s future and the release clause in his contract. The former Barcelona coach was quick to deny the rumours of a penalty clause, specifically for Real Madrid, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a release clause doesn’t exist.
The Athletic reports that the Norwegian International has a release clause of €200million valid from the end of the 2023/2024 season, two years into Haaland’s five-year deal. The value of the clause will then decrease further as the contract moves closer to expiry in 2027.
However, the clause is only valid for clubs outside the Premier League, safeguarding Man City from the prospect of a rival team coming in and snatching up Haaland in a Robin Van Persie-esque manner.
Haaland has been linked with most of Europe’s elite clubs, with Real Madrid and Barcelona showing the most interest given they both have an elite striker in their ranks that are in their mid 30s and are likely to slow down in the near future.
Alf-Inge Haaland, Erling’s father and former Man City player, revealed in a recent interview when his son might decide to leave City. This was greeted with some annoyance given that Erling has only played 13 games for the Sky Blues and is already being bombarded with questions regarding his future.
“I think that Erling [Haaland] wants to test out his capabilities in every league. Then he can stay in every league for three to four years maximum,” said Alf-Inge in a documentary titled ‘Haaland – The Big Decision.’
“He could have two and a half years in Germany, two and a half in England and then [the same] in Spain, Italy and France, right? We do not know if it will be like that, but I think he would like to test his abilities in the big leagues.”
Man City have a track record of allowing players to leave if they no longer want to be at the Club, or if they dream of playing for another team. However, the Citizens must first receive a satisfactory offer, like we’ve seen with Leroy Sané moving to Bayern Munich, and Bernardo Silva not getting a move to Barcelona due to the Catalans not putting in a suitable bid.
Haaland and City face a trip to Denmark on Tuesday for the return fixture against FC Copenhagen in the UCL before a trip to Anfield on Sunday to face Jürgen Klopp’s struggling Liverpool side.