Erling Haaland’s $194 Million Release Clause Is Good News For Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola doesn’t normally like to linger too much on transfers, especially mid-season, but last week there was an issue he felt he had to address.

When asked if there was a clause in star striker Erling Haaland’s contract which allowed him to leave for Spanish giants Real Madrid the Catalan was blunt.

“It is not true”, he said. “He has not got a release clause for Real Madrid or any other team. It is not true, that is all I can say. The rumors, people talk, we cannot control it. Always we must worry about what we can control.”

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However, it turned out that the Manchester City manager’s denial might have contained a greater degree of nuance than first appreciated.

Just days after he made the statement, Spanish journalist Pol Ballus claimed, while Guardiola was truthful about there not being an agreement for a specific team, there was apparently a $194 million clause within the Norweigan’s deal.

According to Ballus, this arrangement activates in 2024 and was only applicable to teams outside the Premier League.

The Athletic writer was keen to point out this was not an indication the Premier League goal machine would be leaving the Etihad, but the crystallization of an existing policy at the club.

“In many ways, though, the release clause is just a formality,” he wrote. “City has long adopted an approach of not tying down any footballer to a contract and will allow them to leave if that’s their true desire — see Nicolas Otamendi, Leroy Sane and even Bernardo Silva. There’s only one requirement to get that: there needs to be a suitable offer on the table.”

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The insertion of this clause might be even more prohibitive than if there wasn’t one at all.

Where’s the money?

News of the release clause came hot on the heels of other British media reports which claimed Erling Haaland’s salary was a staggering $49 million per year, making the full value of his contract an astonishing quarter of billion dollars.

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To put that in perspective Real Madrid’s total annual wage bill is around $269 million.

Spending rules in La Liga dictate that if the Spanish giants were to raise the funds required to pay Haaland’s release clause and cover his sizeable wages they would need to raise some serious capital.

That’s not out of the question, but it makes the task of luring him to Madrid far from straightforward.

From City’s perspective, it knew Haaland might consider his options after three years and the clause at least sets his value at a clear price.

Although Ballus reports that the value of the clause decreases over time, the fee they have locked in should still turn a sizeable profit.

But, as Guardiola indicated in his comments around the contract, more crucial than any piece of paper will be convincing Haaland of the benefits of staying in Manchester.

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“We will try, with all the people who want to stay here, to make them happy. That is the most important thing,” the manager continued. “In the end, what is going to happen in the future, nobody knows. What is important is that he is settled perfectly here, he is happy and he is incredibly loved by everyone. This is the most important thing.”

The Pep problem

Of more pressing concern for Manchester City is the contract of the manager himself.

Come the end of 2022 just 6 months will remain on the two-year agreement Guardiola signed in 2021.

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Reports at the end of last season that the Catalan had already agreed in principle to a three-year extension have so far proved wide of the mark.

When asked about it the Manchester City coach has been typically cryptic, hinting that a new deal might be possible whilst at the same time suggesting he wasn’t sure.

“I wouldn’t change my life here one second. It’s seven seasons already. We spoke with the club,” he said in August.

“Middle of the season, end of the season, we will talk again about how we feel and decide what’s best for the club. I said many times if they want it I’d like to stay longer but at the same time, I have to be sure.

Guardiola’s stint at Manchester City has already been far lengthier than was ever expected.

Before joining the Citizens his longest spell at a club was the four years he spent at Barcelona after which he required a year’s sabbatical. Three seasons in charge of Bayern Munich followed and his initial contract with City was for the same period.

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He is now entering his seventh season in charge and any new deal would be double his previous tenures.

The question of whether Guardiola stays might depend less on him and more on whether he can still have the same impact on the players.

“It’s not the second or third season, it’s many years already and I have to see how the players behave,” the manager explained.

“I don’t want to be a problem, sometimes when you extend things and you force it it’s not good so we have to go through it and relax.

“This kind of situation happens when it’s going to happen in a natural way. If you force it it’s not going well. We will see what happens during the season and how we feel and the best decision for the club is going to be taken.”

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