Man City reach Erling Haaland contract impasse in latest Liverpool title race distraction

Manchester City are reportedly attempting to iron out a contract extension with Erling Haaland, but are said to have hit a key difficulty. Liverpool, sitting five points clear atop the Premier League, will undoubtedly have few quarrels as their rivals become even more distracted.

Few would have predicted Arne Slot's side to be in the position they find themselves come the November international break. Leading the way in the Premier League, Liverpool hold such a convincing margin over four-time successive champions Man City and the opponent previously deemed their likely challenger, Arsenal.

They will have to keep themselves on the ball if they are to maintain their current position, and of course have their own distractions with contract renewal talks for Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold ongoing.

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But the latest rumour acts as proof that Pep Guardiola's seemingly faultless side are not impervious to these same distractions, which becomes even more glaring when they sit on a four-match losing streak.

The Daily Star provide the latest update about Haaland's contract situation at the Etihad Stadium. It has to be said that ultimately, Man City apparently feel 'confident' they can get their striker to renew. The fear would be that Real Madrid, recently rumoured to be on alert, tempt him away.

The report states that the 2024/25 top scorer so far would become the highest-paid Premier League player at £500k per week - surpassing the £400k per week deal team-mate Kevin de Bruyne currently holds. Man City would offer these terms for two additional years, through to 2029.

However, the Reds can allegedly hang their hope on the fact that contract discussions are stalling with friction over the insertion of a release clause. Haaland's current deal at Man City contains a £150m clause suitors such as Real Madrid would be able to activate without questions asked - Etihad Stadium chiefs want this removed entirely, but the Norwegian's representatives want it kept.

The longer it takes to find a compromise, the longer this drags on. Mirrored with Liverpool's surge to the top Haaland has coincidentally gone off the boil in recent weeks with only one goal in three club outings, after starting the campaign with 10 goals in his opening six matches, so they will hope this continues.