„I am City now“: Erling Haaland and his incredible contract until 2034

With the incredible contract of Manchester City's striker star Erling Braut Haaland, we are also back with the Premier League Offside in 2025, dear readers! The former BVB and Salzburg striker signed a virtual retirement contract with Manchester City until 2034. An important signal to City and the league: Premier League football trips remain an attraction thanks to Haaland, but probably also thanks to other players with long-term contracts. A football show you don't have to worry about.

 

Even when Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich played the only German final in the Champions League in Wembley in 2013, when no English club reached the final of the "King's Class" until 2018, and many (German) media prematurely wrote about the "end of the English era," the Premier League remained for me the epitome of football. The biggest football money-printing machine in the world had just taken a breather.

Jürgen Klopp, now at Red Bull in Austria, and Pep Guardiola at Manchester City were building the next world-class teams from England starting in 2015.

That the league founded in 1992 has not lost any of its fascination was shown in recent years with Manchester City (2023) and Chelsea FC (2021) as Champions League winners – and the latest developments in the transfer market.

Haaland until 2034: "I came to stay"

Erling Braut Haaland has set a milestone with his 10-year contract at Manchester City until June 30, 2034. "I am City, no matter what happens," he said in a video clip on January 16, 2025, when the mega-deal was finalized.

That he also added "Sorry, I came to stay" hardly surprises anyone. His father Alf-Inge Haaland already played for Manchester City. Somehow, beyond the color of money, it’s still a matter of the heart. At least a little bit.

By the way, the brutal and intentional foul by Roy Keane against Alf-Inge Haaland in the Manchester derby in 2002, which ended the Norwegian’s career, was my first case in the Premier League.

Erling Haaland's career reached a new level in Manchester.

Haaland's reported weekly wage is said to be around 600,000 euros (!) – that's a massive 31 million euros per year. With the goal numbers Haaland is putting up in Manchester at breakneck speed, it's no wonder.

The total package Haaland is worth 300 million euros to City

He scored 112 goals in 127 competitive matches for Man. City, most recently scoring in the 6-0 thrashing at Ipswich Town in the Premier League (17th goal of the season).

Since 2022, Erling Braut Haaland has won six titles with Manchester City, including the historic treble with Premier League championship, FA Cup, and Champions League victory in 2022/2023.

The "total package Haaland" is costing Manchester City 300 million euros. A transfer to another top club has been pushed far into the future with the contract extension – Haaland would have been under contract until 2027 anyway. Manchester also bought out the Norwegian’s release clause.

In the specialist press, such as in the Kicker Sports Magazine (issue from January 20, 2025), the deal was seen less enthusiastically: "The Abu Dhabi Group makes this head-shaking sum possible (...) Or will ultimately the judiciary decide over Haaland’s future because of City’s? Investigations are still ongoing regarding the alleged 115 violations of Financial Fair Play in the Premier League. The forced relegation of the club as a worst-case scenario is possible, though unlikely."

Yes. These concerns are justified. With Erling Haaland, it also belongs to the truth that since his signing by BVB on December 29, 2019, just over five years ago, there hasn’t been a day without transfer speculation. He finally left in 2022, after giving Dortmund their most recent title (DFB Cup winner 2021), for 60 million euros to the "Skyblues."

Pep Guardiola will remain manager of Manchester City, and Erling Haaland will stay. The former Bayern coach extended his contract in November 2024 until June 2027.

"Now I feel good, we will stay together for a long, long time," said Haaland's mentor Guardiola after a phone call with the Norwegian striker, who is tearing up the Premier League at City just like he did earlier at BVB and RB Salzburg.

Star ensembles like Manchester City, the chance to work with the best players and coaches, and the top salaries made possible by huge TV revenues ensure that the Premier League need not fear for its status.

Therefore, the Chelsea FC, managed by US billionaire Todd Boehly, was also able to bind English international and hopeful Cole Palmer to a contract until 2033.

Pharaonic 16 million euros

Without these excellent conditions for players and coaches, even Omar Marmoush would not have moved from Eintracht Frankfurt to Manchester City in the winter.

The Egyptian, who many experts saw as the successor to "The Pharaoh" Mohamed Salah at Liverpool FC, is said to be receiving a pharaonic salary of 16 million euros at the "Citizens."

How he works alongside Haaland will be one of many exciting questions surrounding Manchester City and the Premier League in 2025.

When does Manchester United play against Manchester City in 2025?

The return match between the two city rivals Manchester United and City is on April 5, 2025, at Old Trafford. 

When will the return match Manchester City against FC Liverpool take place?

Liverpool won the first encounter 2-0, and City will host the title rival on February 23, 2025 (26th matchday).