Manchester City ‘preparing’ Erling Haaland offer as Real Madrid suffer £150m blow

Manchester City are reportedly preparing a new contract offer for Erling Haaland that will tie his long-term future to the club.

The striker only joined City last summer but has been repeatedly linked with a move away from the Etihad in his first campaign.

Real Madrid have been the side most commonly mentioned with trying to sign Haaland, with a report this week in Fichajes claiming the reigning European champions plan to try and purchase the Norwegian in 2024.

It had been previously reported that Haaland has a release clause worth £150 million in his contract which would become active in 2024.

However, City are set to offer Haaland an improved contract to prevent that from happening, according to The Athletic. The new deal would removal a clause in his contract that could see the club’s no.9 leave for £150m in the summer of 2024.

While that clause was originally linked to Guardiola’s future and was cancelled when the City manager extended his contract in November, The Athletic state the exact nature of the release fee is ‘shrouded in secrecy’ and it’s ‘unclear’ whether it could kick back in at a later date.

The report further adds that Haaland has always had the ambition of moving to the Santiago Bernabeu. However, at this point, the 22-year-old Norwegian is very happy at Manchester City and feels that he is at the right club to continue his development and progression.

It is also claimed that the former Borussia Dortmund ace is delighted by City keeping a series of promises they had made, one of which was to look after him physically after the injury issues he had faced in Germany.

So, even though Real Madrid continue to lurk, Manchester City believe that Haaland would be open to talks over a new deal. It is not new for the defending Premier league champion to offer extensions to players within their first year at the club – they have already done it with the likes of Ederson, Ruben Dias, and Julian Alvarez.

In 40 matches this season, Haaland has already plundered 47 goals, breaking several records along the way. The Norwegian’s current contract at City runs until 2027 and the club now want to offer him an extension to keep him away from Real Madrid’s clutches.