A lot can happen in a decade, but Erling Haaland may’ve just signed a contract to officially pursue Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League goals record.
Manchester City announced a new nine-and-a-half year contract for the 24-year-old megastar Haaland, settling him into City until the end of the 2023-24 season in what’s believed to be the longest deal in PL history.
[ MORE: All of Haaland’s video highlights, career stats ]
Haaland has 22 goals in 28 games for City this season, a fantastic return even if down from previous years. He already had over 100 goals with City including 79 in the Premier League.
Now Haaland continues the family tradition started by dad Alfie at the start of this century, a tenure cut short by a horror kick from Manchester United star Roy Keane.
How much is Haaland’s new contract worth? Does Haaland have a release clause?
The deal is expected to make Haaland the richest earner in the Premier League and in exchange he does not have a release clause, according to Sky Sports.
They say Haaland was on approximately $487,000 per week and that he’s getting a raise.
City already had the highest wage bill in the league, $300,000 more per week than second-place Man United. FBref.com says that Haaland’s previous contract trailed only teammate Kevin De Bruyne in weekly outlay.
What does this mean for Haaland, Manchester City?
There’s a lot to unpack here, from Haaland’s future to City’s, but it’s a clarion call from the Etihad Stadium to the rest of the world: This club is a destination, not a stopover.
That was probably known already almost everywhere but when only two or three clubs can take your best players, these messages matter — especially as City rebuild for a future that will soon enough not include Pep Guardiola and could still involve punishment from the Premier League. And the deal was orchestrated by outgoing director Txiki Begiristain, bridging Haaland from the club’s most successful period to the future.
For all the worthwhile talk of the aging City roster, they now have Haaland (24), Josko Gvardiol (22), Phil Foden (24), and Rodri (28) inked through at least 2027 and are reportedly close to signing 19-year-old center back Vitor Reis and 20-year-old center back Abdukhodir Khusanov. Rico Lewis, Claudio Echeverri, Oscar Bobb, Savinho, Jeremy Doku, and Matheus Nunes are also signed through 2027-28.
Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne are out-of-contract in the summer while Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ederson, and Bernardo Silva have deals expiring after the 2025-26 season.
Haaland’s 79 Premier League goals at age 24 are almost 200 away from Shearer’s 260, the Premier League record, but the pace is similar and Shearer’s second of three 30-plus goal seasons came in his third season. Haaland has scored 36 and 27 after missing half of last season. He’s on 16 more than halfway through this season.
Erling Haaland’s comments on new Manchester City contract
“I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great Club.
“Manchester City is a special Club, full of fantastic people with amazing supporters and it’s the type of environment that helps bring the best out of everybody.
“I also want to thank Pep, his coaching staff, my teammates and everyone at the Club as they have all helped me so much in the past couple of years. They have made this such a special place to be and now I am City no matter what.
“I want to keep developing, keep working to get better and look to do my best to try and help us achieve more success going forward.”
