Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that MCFC are trying to make Erling Haaland sign a new contract because the club is not happy with the current release clause.
Erling Haaland has a £173m release clause in his Manchester City contract and amidst growing interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, City fear that they will lose the striker if they do not remove this clause.
Four, five years ago, a £173m release clause would have been an absurd amount to trigger but the market’s gone crazy these days so there’s every chance that Barcelona and especially Madrid will come after the 23-year-old.
Another big issue with this clause is that it decreases year on year from next summer which is perhaps the biggest cause of concern for Pep Guardiola. Haaland’s deal expires in 2027 and right now, MCFC are planning to extend it for a further year and in the process remove the clause.
Will Erling Haaland sign the new deal or will he push for an exit?
Haaland’s agent has publicly claimed that it is the ‘dream’ of every player to play for Real Madrid which is a clear hint that the striker wishes to play for the Los Blancos someday.
Barcelona have also registered an interest in the forward but they will have to sort out their finances because they can even think of spending such crazy amounts.
As far as MCFC are concerned, they will be confident that Erling Haaland will sign the extension because he is more than happy at the club but the problem for Guardiola is that at only 23 years old, Haaland has already secured an English treble. If City wins the league this season as well, the youngster will have zero motivation to remain in England.
Haaland will definitely be tempted to join Real Madrid but the biggest issue is that Madrid is more inclined to go after Kylian Mbappe.
Real Madrid board member Jose Manuel Ortero has recently claimed that Mbappe is more suited to the club’s style and if Perez thinks the same then the club could cut their interest in Haaland.
“For Real Madrid’s game, Mbappe is better suited than Haaland. Haaland demands that the entire team play for him so that he can score,” Ortero has said.
Signing both these superstars will massively inflate their wage bills so at the end of this season, the Los Blancos will have to choose between Mbappe and Haaland. This decision though will perfectly suit Barcelona because if the fiercest rivals pull out of the race then they will be in pole position.
MCFC are very evidently worried that Erling Haaland is not going to stay for very long which is why they are in such a hurry to extend his contract but with two of the biggest clubs in the world interested in him, we highly doubt if the Norwegian international will put pen on paper.
