There have been rumors that head coach Pep Guardiola has denied claims of Erling Haaland’s contract containing a release clause that would allow him to join Real Madrid in 2024 not true.
The Spanish giants were also keen on the striker’s performance, but Manchester City was able to sign Haaland in the summer. However, after Real Madrid was sidelined, former player Fernando Sanz claimed that the striker’s contract included a clause to join Los Blancos at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Furthermore, Haaland’s father Alf-Inge recently said his son wants to play in all the major European leagues, including La Liga.
There’s nothing City can do to stop the Norwegian striker from going to Los Blancos if he bids for the 200m in 2024 or 2025, according to a report from the Spanish TV show El Chiringuito this week. Catalan media claimed the release would also apply to Madrid’s bitter rival Barcelona.
However, after Haaland scored two more goals in his 5–0 Champions League win over FC Copenhagen, Guardiola struggled to deny the existence of the clause.
Pep Guardiola and Haaland’s response to the press conference
At a press conference, Pep Guardiola had spoken about the potential termination clause with Real Madrid and has denied that it exists. Pep Guardiola stated that “It’s not true, he doesn’t have a specific release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. It’s not true, what can I say? I have the feeling he’s incredibly happy here.”
The Manchester City manager also explained why he replaced the Norwegian striker against Copenhagen. “He plays a lot of minutes, the game was under control and Cole Palmer is an excellent player and he really wanted to play. If the game had been tight, Erling would have continued.”
Haaland left the field at half-time with two goals but the Spanish manager says that was done to not let him rest, “It’s not about giving the players rest. We have a squad of 20 players, if you play with only 11, You don’t have 20 players. The others, when you need them, don’t work.”
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