Erling Haaland looks increasingly likely to stay at Manchester City for the long haul and turn down interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The Norway international has been backed to spend the bulk – if not all – of his remaining career at the Etihad Stadium instead of moving to La Liga.
10 years, and some more?
The talk around Haaland’s future comes after the 25-year-old signed a nine-and-a-half-year contract extension with City in January 2025.
That deal was seen as a huge commitment to the club’s project and has fuelled speculation that the striker could remain in Manchester for more than a decade.
Former Premier League forward Marlon Harewood – speaking to GOAL in association with William Hill – described Haaland as an “old school” striker and said his presence in the Premier League has revitalised the traditional centre-forward role.
“You miss those old school strikers. There are no strikers anymore. I have missed that as a striker myself,” he said.
“It has all been petering out, having one striker and then it’s not really a battle. I miss the physicality of being against a centre-half and the battle of striker and defender – you win your duels. There has not been much of that. He is bringing that back, which I love.”
Harewood also pointed out that Haaland is in a club where he can consistently compete for silverware.
City have already delivered multiple Premier League titles, an FA Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a Champions League during his time in England – part of a historic treble in his debut season of 2022/23.
“I can’t see why he wouldn’t stay,” Harewood added. “The only places to go when you are talking about big clubs are Barcelona and Real Madrid, PSG. They are the only clubs that could afford him. He’s at a very good club in Man City and I can see him staying there and breaking records.”
Image credit: Hameltion, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Haaland’s record-breaking Manchester City career
Since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, Erling Haaland has smashed numerous goalscoring records. A recent achievement is becoming the fastest player to score 100 Premier League goals. He did it in just 111 games.
His overall tally for City stands at an eye-watering rate – 147 goals in 168 games across all competitions.
With stats like that, interest from big clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona will never entirely fade. However, such a move seems unlikely in the near future.
City manager Pep Guardiola has also publicly played down the idea of Haaland departing. He has described his star forward as someone who would not easily walk away from an established and ambitious project.
For now, Haaland’s future looks set to be written in Manchester. If he does see out his contract, he could rewrite the record books as one of the Premier League’s all-time greats while helping City chase more trophies in the years ahead.
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