Erling Haaland has indicated he plans to spend the vast majority of his professional football career at Manchester City by extending his contract by nine and a half years.
The Norway international was already tied up until June 2027 under his previous terms, but his new and improved contract runs for just under ten years and will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2034.
Haaland is only 24 but would be 34 by the time this new contract expires. Most crucially for England’s defending champions, all release clauses from his old terms have been removed. The deal, which eclipses the nine-year extension Cole Palmer signed from Chelsea in August, is not only the longest-running in Premier League history, but also one of the most lucrative. Sources tell James Benge of CBS Sports that the deal could be worth around $610,000 (£500,000) per week.
“I’m going to stay for a long time,” Haaland said. “Now I can fully concentrate on getting better because I’ve been here for so long. Full focus on performing and getting better to give all the fans what they want. It’s happened very quickly. It feels like I signed a moment ago. It went very quickly and that’s a good thing. It means I’m enjoying it.
“For two and a half years as a City player I won a lot of trophies, played a lot of good football and had so many great moments together with the whole club and with the fans. I still remember the rainy parade [after the treble] which was perhaps the biggest and best moment as it was a typical Manchester parade. It was amazing and like a dream in these two and a half years.”
Speculation had regularly linked Haaland with Real Madrid, but the Scandinavian goalscoring machine instead opted to strengthen his ties with the Citizens.
Guardiola committed his future to City until 2027 and Haaland is now likely to outlive his boss in Manchester as he has already scored 111 goals in just 126 games.
The former Borussia Dortmund and Red Bull Salzburg hitman arrived in 2022 and has already won two Premier League titles, as well as several UCL, FA Cup and UEFA Super Cup crowns.
This development in Haaland is also a big boost for City at a time when they are awaiting the decision on their legal battle against the EPL over alleged breaches of financial regulations.
That verdict is expected this year and possibly before the end of the current season, with the Manchester giants working hard to bring in reinforcements at this point in the January transfer window.
Brazilian defender Vitor Reis is expected to join from Palmeiras, as well as Uzbek youngster Abdukodir Khusanov from RC Lens and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush.