Haaland and his 9 and a half year contract: The longest promises in football

A version of this article was first published in June 2020 and has been updated.

Erling Haaland has just signed a very lucrative 9 and a half year contract, valid until 2034, which should allow him to stay at Manchester City for what appears to be the entirety of his career.

Although the exact figures have not been revealed by the club, sources have told ESPN that it is one of the most profitable contracts in football history. Although the 24-year-old striker, who has scored 111 goals in 126 games for the club, is not the first footballer to potentially regret signing a contract that is too long, he certainly won’t be the last.

Here is a selection of the biggest contracts ever awarded in Europe, as well as their consequences.

Athletic Club like to offer long-term contracts, as their transfer policy only allows them to sign players linked to the Basque Country region of Spain.

These two players are essential in the current squad and seem worthy of their status until 2032.

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Fabregas signed an eight-year contract with Arsenal in 2006, with Arsène Wenger keen to build his post-Invincibles team around the young Spanish midfielder.

Aged 19 at the time, Fabregas gave the Gunners a good five years before the call of his homeland lured him back to Barcelona in 2011. However, that move didn’t quite go as planned.

RANK: PASSED

Speaking of the longest active contracts in world football, Chelsea currently hold nine of the twelve highest-ranked players on their books.

Ukrainian winger Mudryk arrived in January 2023 following a €70 million transfer (with €30 million in bonuses) from Shakhtar Donetsk. He was reported to have hoped to one day join Arsenal, but the offer of a lucrative 8.5-year contract from Chelsea was convincing enough to sway his decision.

Unfortunately, the pacy striker has yet to convince his critics after a sporadic run of inconclusive first-team appearances. And to make matters worse, Mudryk has not played for Chelsea since early December due to a provisional suspension from the FA linked to an ongoing doping control issue.

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In a massive effort to lure Palmer from Manchester City in the summer of 2023, Chelsea were finally able to convince the young striker to sign a seven-year contract. Palmer immediately established himself, scoring 25 goals in his first successful season at Stamford Bridge, prompting the club to extend the contract for a further two years, bringing it to nine years.

Fernandez impressed with Argentina at the 2022 World Cup and Chelsea made him the most expensive player in British football history with a €121 million transfer, ensuring he is linked with the club until ‘in the summer of 2031. Although its start was slightly disappointing, it’s fair to say that there has been a marked improvement since.

Along the same lines, Jackson, who started scoring more regularly after arriving from Villarreal on an initial eight-year contract, also extended for two more years.

Other players currently under contract with Chelsea for seven years or more include Pedro Neto, Renato Veiga, Moises Caicedo, Filip Jorgensen and Aaron Anselmino.

RANK: PASSED

Messi signed nine different contracts during his time at Barcelona (the photo below is from 2014), but the longest was the nine-year one he concluded in September 2005, a few months after making his first-team debut .

Messi had a contract running until 2014 and doubled his salary in the process, but it’s fair to say that Barca profited handsomely from their investment, with the legendary Argentine quickly reaching peaks of performance.

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After becoming a mainstay of Atletico Madrid’s combative midfield, Saul signed a huge nine-year contract in 2017, tying him to the club until 2026. However, it wasn’t long before he began to experience tension with coach Diego Simeone, which led to him being loaned to Chelsea (2021-22) and then to Sevilla, where he is likely to sign permanently in the coming months.

Meanwhile, his midfield partner, Koke, has also been given an additional five years to stay at the club until 2024, with a one-year option added to extend it until 2025. At 33, he is still present at Atletico, and this decision has proven to be more beneficial.

RANK: PASSED, deservedly

Another LaLiga player, Williams, also agreed to a nine-year contract with Athletic Club in 2019, which could see him finish his career at San Mamés.

It is important to note that any club interested in signing Williams will have to pay a whopping €135 million to waive his release clause.

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Denilson (Real Betis), 10 years old

A precursor to the eye-catching contracts we regularly see today, Denilson became the most expensive player in the world when Real Betis paid 30 million euros for him following the 1998 World Cup.

The 20-year-old Brazilian winger agreed to a colossal ten-year contract, but ultimately struggled to justify that confidence, failing to maintain consistent form and leaving LaLiga for Bordeaux six years later (two years having been spent on loan in Sao Paulo) with only seven goals to his name.

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As recognition for his years of exemplary service, Barcelona offered Iniesta a “lifetime contract” in October 2017 – a golden contract meant to keep the 33-year-old midfielder at the Camp Nou until the end of his career.

Six months later, he left the club and joined Vissel Kobe in Japan, leaving Barca wondering if he had misunderstood the scope of their contract.

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Real Madrid were so keen for Casillas and Raul to stay at the Bernabeu for the rest of their careers that they awarded them both “lifetime contracts” in 2008.

Casillas’ contract was for nine years, while Raul (aged 30 at the time) added a year to his existing contract.

However, both contracts included an automatic clause to add a year if the player in question managed to play 30 games the previous season.

It’s fair to say that both players undeniably spent their best years with The Whitesalthough both left the club well before the end of their “sporting lives”, Casillas for FC Porto and Raul for Schalke. This made the gesture somewhat symbolic. But now that President Florentino Perez’s comments about these two players have been revealed, we perhaps better understand the motivations behind this move.

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