Manchester City prepared to hike Erling Haaland wages

Redaction Flinster Blake with Abhinav Sharma
Published on 2024-02-18 19:30:45

According to reports from The Mirror, Manchester City’s hopes of retaining star striker Erling Haaland have been given a boost due to the fact that Real Madrid is focusing on signing Kylian Mbappe.

Haaland made the switch to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in July 2022 and has been in scintillating form in his first season, scoring 52 goals in 53 appearances. His impressive performances have continued into the new season, with 21 goals and six assists in 27 matches across all competitions. Despite recent rumors of the Norwegian forward being unsettled in Manchester, Real Madrid has been heavily linked with a potential move for him.

Madrid previously pursued Haaland when he left Dortmund, but he ultimately chose Manchester City over the Bernabeu due to Karim Benzema’s presence at the time. However, to fend off Real Madrid’s interest, Manchester City is reportedly offering Haaland a significant pay hike and a new deal that would keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2029, and they also seek to renegotiate a buyout clause.

While Madrid’s primary focus is signing Mbappe, City looks to leverage this situation to secure Haaland’s long-term future. Reports suggest that neither Mbappe nor Haaland would prefer to play together, as they view each other as rivals for the Ballon d’Or, and believe that their prospects of being seen as the best player in the world would be compromised.

City intends to increase Haaland’s basic salary without breaking their existing pay structure that rewards players for performance. However, Haaland reportedly wants to know about Pep Guardiola’s future plans before making a decision about his own future. This is due to Guardiola’s contract having just 12 months left on it in the summer.

The management at Manchester City is determined to ensure that they can retain the services of Erling Haaland for many years to come and are leveraging the situation with Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe to their advantage.

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