Haaland puts Barcelona, Real Madrid on alert with updated exit clause
The Norwegian striker signed a five-year deal when joining the Mancunians from Borussia Dortmund
Manchester City star Erling Haaland will put Spanish football giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid on alert if he signs a new contract, which is said to include an exit clause, MARCA reported citing anonymous sources.
The Norwegian striker signed a five-year deal when joining the Mancunians from Borussia Dortmund, after they activated his relatively modest £52 million (€60 million) release clause.
Haaland enjoyed a record-breaking goalscoring season in his debut campaign in England, as City clinched a treble, including their first-ever Champions League title.
There has long been speculation that Haaland's contract includes a release clause, allowing non-Premier League clubs to trigger it for amounts as high as £175 million ($230 million).
The clause was reportedly activated this summer, with AS previously suggesting the figure could be as low as €100 million ($110 million).
This inevitably led to rumours of Madrid bringing Haaland to the Bernabeu as a Plan B, should Los Blancos fail to secure Kylian Mbappe. However, since they did, signing him on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, such speculation has quietened down.
MARCA further reported that City wants to make Haaland the highest-paid member of its squad - overtaking Kevin De Bruyne in this sense - with a renewal.
Even if he does commit, however, Haaland will remain "the master of his own destiny" by indeed having an exit clause put in his contract.
The figure we're discussing here isn't specified, but this type of development once again puts Madrid and Barça on alert.
Even in its financially strained, modern-day situation, it's likely that the Catalan president, Joan Laporta, would make securing Haaland an election promise – as he did in 2021 with Messi's renewal, which never materialised – when he runs for a second consecutive term in 2026.
As for Madrid, finding the funds to buy Galácticos is rarely a problem for Laporta's counterpart, Florentino Pérez. Haaland’s signing could see him become Carlo Ancelotti’s side’s number 9, with Mbappé shifting out wide, potentially at the expense of either Vinícius Jr. or Rodrygo.
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