According to As, Pep Guardiola's recent contract extension at Manchester City would change the plans of Erling Haaland (24) and complicate a possible transfer to Real Madrid.
The prospect of seeing Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland associated with Real Madrid seems to have a bad start in the immediate future. According to As, the Norwegian striker seems set to continue the adventure at Manchester City where he has a contract until 2027. In recent months, The Athletic revealed that a clause in the Norwegian's contract opened the door for him to a departure to a foreign team in the summer of 2024, against 180 million euros. But this would no longer really be the desire of the striker, who arrived at Manchester City in 2022 for 60 million euros.
Closer to an extension than a departure
Everything would have changed with the announcement of Pep Guardiola's recent contract extension until 2026, with an optional year. The great uncertainty surrounding the future of the Catalan coach on the English bench left doubts hovering over that of Haaland, who is closely linked to his coach. The departure of Txiki Begiristain, former sporting director of the club very close to Guardiola, and the prospect of a heavy sanction in the trial over the breaches of financial fair play seemed to weigh in the balance of a potential departure. But things have evolved with the revelations from The Athletic at the start of the week ensuring that Guardiola was going to extend his lease.
This announcement would even open the door to an extension of Haaland's contract as well. While he has always been sensitive to the interest of Real, the former Salzburg and Dortmund scorer would now be more inclined to sign up for the long term with the Citizens.
Since his signing, Haaland has twice finished as the Premier League's top scorer (with 35 and 31 goals) for a total of 105 goals and 15 assists in 114 games. He has already won six titles including the Champions League in 2023 and the English championship twice (2023, 2024). As does not give any voice to Real Madrid, always very discreet publicly about its recruitment policy. But the Norwegian superstar would move away a little from the Spanish capital.
