Manchester City are hopeful of fending off Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona by penning their star striker Erling Haaland to a new deal.
Haaland has been in scintillating form since his move to the Premier League, and it looks like no goalscoring record is safe from the Norwegian’s exploits.
However, despite his form, his future at the Etihad has been uncertain in recent weeks, with talks over a new contract for Pep Guardiola’s talismanic striker stalling repeatedly.
There has now been a breakthrough that sees the Cityzens hopeful of the forward staying at the Etihad and smashing records along the way.
Manchester City confident of retaining Erling Haaland.
According to The Mirror, City are confident that the Norwegian ace will put pen to paper on a new deal on the sky blue side of Manchester, dealing a blow to La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
With that breakthrough, there are still some details to be ironed out. The contributing factor to contract negotiations stalling has been the striker’s release clause, which stands at £150 million. City is insistent on it not being part of his contract at the club, but one solution is to increase that figure, as it is known that Haaland does like to have control over his future.
By putting pen to paper on a new deal, his salary will almost double, from £375,000 per week to £500,000. That basic salary would make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League (basic salary), beating his teammate, Kevin de Bruyne. Currently, the highest average salary in Europe belongs to Frenkie de Jong of Barcelona at £600,000 per week.
Has Haaland earned Manchester City pay rise?
If there was any player in the Premier League who has earned a pay rise, it has been Erling Haaland. Hard times have fallen upon the striker, but he was not alone, as Manchester City slumped to four successive defeats, a career first for Pep Guardiola.
There have been fixtures he has looked a shadow of the player who spent the last season tearing up the Premier League, blistering record after record. He did not break his longest run of games without a goal, making his Golden Boot last season all the more impressive after he went nine games without scoring.
This season, he has seen fewer big chances made for him, a drop which has lined up with the injury of midfielder and Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, but he still has 12 in 11 in the league. Not to mention his penalty miss in the 4-1 defeat to Sporting in the Champions League.
None of this takes away from the player that Haaland is. He can have a bad day and still be one of the best players on the pitch. In the meantime, a move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid did not seem likely, looking at Mbappe’s arrival in the Spanish capital and reports that Barcelona favours Swedish forward Alexander Isak.