Erling Haaland never thought about charges before committing to Manchester City
Erling Haaland insists he never even thought about the looming verdict on Manchester City’s much-discussed 115 charges before committing his long-term future to the club.
The prolific Norwegian was also happy to have closed the door on the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona to stay at the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland signed an extraordinary new nine-and-a-half year contract with the reigning Premier League champions worth a reported basic £500,000 per week last Friday.
🧘🏼♂️👀 pic.twitter.com/IlL3uUhjkT
— Erling Haaland (@ErlingHaaland) January 17, 2025
It was a huge vote of confidence in the club, who could face the prospect of a heavy points deduction or even relegation over alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial regulations.
City, who have denied all wrongdoing, faced a hearing in front of an independent commission on more than 100 charges before Christmas and are expecting a verdict in the spring.
“No, I haven’t thought of that or anything,” said Haaland at a press conference on Tuesday ahead of City’s Champions League clash with Paris St Germain in the French capital.
“In the end I really don’t think I should speak too much about this because I’ve been here two-and-a-half years and I’m confident that the club knows what they’re doing.”
Haaland, who has scored 112 goals in 127 appearances since joining City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, has regularly been linked with Madrid.
His father Alf-Inge even said recently that he could see his son moving on.
“First of all, that’s his words, not mine,” said Haaland Jr, 24. “When I signed for City I said it felt like home and of course I really meant it.
“I’m really looking forward to spending so many more years in Manchester. It’s going to be amazing.”
Asked directly if he was happy to have ruled out 15-time European champions Madrid, Haaland said: “I just signed a nine-and-a-half-year deal, so what do you want me to say? Of course I’m happy with that.
“I’m super-happy with my choice. I’m looking forward to spending many years in Manchester and that’s really it.”
Born to be blue 🩵 pic.twitter.com/cMW3drdQUE
— Manchester City (@ManCity) January 17, 2025
Haaland, who has scored 80 Premier League goals, also insisted he was not motivated by the prospect of beating Alan Shearer’s long-held competition record of 260.
Asked if he had thought about it, he said: “Not really, no.”
City’s game in Paris is a crucial encounter for both teams after underwhelming campaigns in the competition so far.
Pep Guardiola’s side have mustered just eight points from their first six games in the league phase with PSG a point further back. Defeat could leave either side in danger of missing out on a place in the top 24 and the knock-out stages.
City manager Guardiola said: “Of course it is a really important game for us and for PSG, but we still have another game against Bruges at home.
“I don’t know how many points we will need. Six points will be mathematically (sure), but maybe four, maybe three.
“But if we don’t qualify we have to accept we were not good enough.”
Centre-back John Stones is back in contention after an ankle injury but new signings Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov are ineligible.
“Welcome to the family,” Guardiola said of the new arrivals. “We’re really pleased to have them.”