Man City striker Erling Haaland has ruled out staying in the Premier League when he eventually leaves the Etihad Stadium, according to reports.
The Citizens have made a brilliant start to the new Premier League season with four wins from four against Chelsea, Ipswich Town, West Ham and Brenford ahead of their clash versus title rivals Arsenal on Sunday.
One the key reasons for their brilliant early-season form is Haaland’s incredible goal return so far with the Norway international bagging nine goals in his first four matches of the season.
And there is lots of speculation surrounding his future at the club with claims that Real Madrid and Barcelona are both monitoring his situation with his contract expiring in 2027.
There have been reports that Man City are keen to tie Haaland down to a new contract but it’s understood his willingness to include a relatively low release clause is holding up the progress of the deal.
And now reports in Spain claim that Haaland has ‘made it clear that he is ready for a new challenge away from the Premier League’ and the Man City striker ‘feels that the time is right to seek new horizons and challenges that will allow him to continue growing as a footballer’.
It is claimed that both Man Utd and Chelsea ‘were willing to make a record offer to attract the Norwegian, his refusal to continue in England completely rules out any possibility of signing for these clubs’.
Real Madrid and Barcelona remain ‘two of the main candidates to sign him’ while Serie A and the Bundesliga ‘could also be attractive destinations for Haaland’ with Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain other named clubs in the report.
Clubs could also be buoyed if Man City end up being found guilty of alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial fair play rules with points deductions and even expulsion reportedly on the cards.
MORE MAN CITY COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 Man City FFP: PL rivals ‘want serious sanction’ with ‘very angry’ response on ‘cheating’ predicted
👉 Arsenal: Shearer names just four Gunners in combined XI with Man City; makes ‘disaster’ result claim
👉 Man City FFP: Allardyce slams ‘ridiculous’ PL decision; makes non-‘relegation’ punishment prediction
And Pep Guardiola declared earlier this week that he feels some of Man City’s detractors want to see the club wiped “from the face of the Earth”.
Man City are facing the threat of a points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League after being charged with 115 breaches of the competition’s regulations following an investigation into their financial affairs.
A long-awaited hearing into the matter began earlier this week and a verdict is expected to be delivered next year.
Man City manager Guardiola has claimed previously that some of the club’s rivals want to see them found guilty and he appears in no doubt they would expect punishment to be severe.
Guardiola brought up the matter unprompted at a press conference to preview Sunday’s clash with Arsenal while ostensibly delivering an answer about the tendency of people to overly criticise isolated bad performances.
He said: “During a season, you can say, ‘Oh, it was a bad season’.
“But for performances some people say, ‘Oh, it’s a disgrace, it is a disaster, it’s unacceptable’. No, during 90 minutes it’s one bad afternoon when they were better.
“But I would say – I’m sorry, I want to defend my club, especially in these modern days when everyone is expecting us not to be relegated, to be disappeared off the face of the Earth, the world – that we have better afternoons than the opponents. That’s why we win a lot.”
