Erling Haaland has discussed his contract situation at Manchester City, as well as the role of Pep Guardiola for him and his future at the Etihad, with the striker discussing their plans going forward
Manchester City star Erling Haaland has claimed he is on board with the club’s plans for the future after conversations with the hierarchy, while claiming that he knew Pep Guardiola would be staying for at least a little bit longer. The striker has lit up the Premier League since his move back in 2022, which has led to links over his future.
Real Madrid have been rumoured to hold transfer interest in Haaland, who signed a contract extension until 2034 with Man City earlier this year. The new deal makes him one of the best-paid players in the Premier League, and while there have been suggestions of interest elsewhere, it seems as though his full focus is on Man City.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, he said: “Exactly, and that’s the reason that I also signed it because of conversations that I’ve had with the bosses and also the plan in the next years, and that was something I wanted to be a part of. And yeah, I’m calm, I’m focused, and I’m really happy here, so it’s a really good place to be for development and also in the end, England, it’s a football country, and I think it’s the best place to play football.”
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Haaland already has 20 goals to his name this season across all competitions, having hit the ground once again to keep Man City dreaming of another Premier League title. It’s another chance for Guardiola to show off his managerial acumen to hunt down another trophy, even when it seems the side aren’t the favourites.
It’s unclear just how long the 54-year-old will stick around at the Etihad Stadium, with his latest contract extension taking him up to 2027. For Haaland, there is a desire to work with Guardiola, but he made it clear that he wants to be part of the plans at City for the long term.
On the manager’s future, he said: “I mean, he signed a new contract, was it before or after me? I’m not sure. But I knew he was staying for another year or another year and a half, with his contract right now.
“But most of the conversations were with his bosses and my boss as well, because I remember my father said when I was really, not young, but like 10 years ago, he said like, ‘Never go to a club because of the manager’, which sometimes can be difficult. But also, you never know what’s going to happen in the modern world.
“But again, Pep was a big reason why I came to City, of course, to work with him and to be able to experience him and his special ways and his hard work and all of these things. So it’s kind of a mix there.”
The future of both Guardiola and Haaland will be viewed as an important subject for City over the coming years. Both have been incredibly important to the success that the team has had recently, be it in the Premier League, Champions League, or the domestic trophies.
Haaland has already racked up 144 goals in 166 appearances for the club, showing some devastating form in his time there so far. In three years, he has won six trophies, along with numerous individual accolades, proving to be one of the best players in the world in that time.
A new contract for Haaland proved to be a priority for City, and with that deal now signed until 2034, it comes with the added boost that any exit clauses included in his original contract are now gone, as per The Athletic. That gives the club plenty of security on that front, but less so on the managerial side of things.
Guardiola has been rumoured with a potential exit for a few years now, but the cycle of renewing his deal has only continued. The latest deal should see him stay until 2027, though it’s unclear what appetite he has to be at the Etihad Stadium beyond that point.
The 54-year-old has won 18 trophies in his time with City, and that could grow even further by the end of the current campaign. “I have two more years, maybe I’ll extend two more years. So the question is when I will stop in this year or in two years, or in four years, I will take a break. But now I feel fine, I would say,” he told Men in Blazers earlier this year about his future.
“The team is giving me good vibes, starting from the [Club] World Cup in the United States. There we created something. I saw something that I liked, that I missed last season.
“The training sessions, the body language, the details, arriving on time, the (running) backwards, how we defend throw-ins, stupid things that you realise the team is there. And that will help us to be, I think, more consistent than last season.”
With City seemingly in the title race again this season, there is certainly some more consistency, and the team are showing why they are contenders once again.
