Manchester City striker Erling Haaland could leave following an independent commission finding the club guilty of all charges related to breaches of Premier League financial rules.
Yesterday, the Premier League confirmed the verdict, noting that “Manchester City failed to accurately report its income and expenditure for the purposes of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules and UEFA’s Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Rules” in a damning statement that used the word “sham” five times.
It leaves the future of the Citizens in doubt – with Erling Haaland, in particular, the highest-profile star who could well push for an exit.
Erling Haaland has given the nod to Barcelona - with Manchester City in disarray
According to Football Insider, it is “inconceivable” that the Norwegian superstar remains at the Etihad Stadium, should they be forcibly relegated from the Premier League.
Haaland has scored 117 goals in 137 fixtures for the Sky Blues and won two league titles since joining in 2022 from Borussia Dortmund – but Barcelona have had previous talks with the star about him moving to Catalonia.
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo have previously claimed that Barça intended for the Scandi striker to replace Robert Lewandowski, opening talks with then-agent, the late Mino Raiola, in April 2021.
According to the report, Haaland was “very excited” to join the club and indicated he would be happy to sign for the Blaugrauna in 2022.
“In fact, in March 2022, [then-manager] Xavi Hernandez travelled to Munich to meet with him in person and finish explaining the project,” the report notes, adding, “However, the Norwegian said ‘yes’ to Barça for the following season” – meaning that he would have joined in 2023.
Another Spanish outlet, Sport, has since insisted that Haaland would prioritise moving to Barcelona – which would put the 26-year-old opposite Kylian Mbappe in El Clasico clashes.
Whether or not Barcelona would still explore a deal remains to be seen: over the summer, the Catalan giants refused to pay big money for Haaland's former team-mate, Julian Alvarez, given that they didn't see the need to invest in attack – and that's certainly not changed, with Raphinha reborn as a No.9.
But Haaland is a very different prospect, and a gilt-edged opportunity to sign arguably the best player on the planet is one that president Joan Laporte is unlikely to pass up.
With City potentially needing to sell their best player, too, FourFourTwo believes that Barça would be at the front of the queue alongside the likes of Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
The Norwegian is valued at €220 million, according to Transfermarkt. City play Liverpool when Premier League action resumes after the international break.
