Erling Haaland is reportedly ready to “leave” Man City due to his distant connection with Pep Guardiola and the “terrible mindset” he has established there, according to sources.
The vibrant striker only recently signed with Man City in the summer. To acquire him from Bundesliga team Borussia Dortmund, they triggered his £51 million release clause.
Haaland has been in great goal-scoring form for the Premier League champions this year. In almost 27 appearances for them this season in all competitions, he has netted 31 goals.
Despite this, Man City trail Arsenal in the fight for the trophy, and some have brashly asserted that Haaland has made them less strong this year.
Guardiola’s team is struggling to modify their style for Haaland, but when they are firing on all cylinders, they are pretty terrifying to watch.
However, according to the Spanish publication Nacional, Haaland and Guardiola’s friendship is “beginning to shatter.”
According to the article, Guardiola is having a difficult time this year since “some players accused him of being the main culprit for the poor climate that is currently being felt.”
Then they suggest that Joao Cancelo “grew bored” of Guardiola before his loan transfer to Bayern Munich last month. At the same time, Bernardo Silva allegedly “planned to leave” in the upcoming months.
The “huge shock” is that Haaland and Guardiola have a “very distant relationship,” nevertheless. They assume that this is because he is “extremely uncomfortable with the style of play presented by City” after adding the two and two.
According to the article, this might “end up causing an unsalvageable split with Guardiola, and his subsequent departure.” How dramatic.
However, Nacional then goes on to associate Haaland with Real Madrid, who are very sensitive to his circumstance.
For Real Madrid, the revelation of the forward’s “rage” with Guardiola is “great news,” according to president Florentino Perez, who believes the forward is the “highest suitable successor for Karim Benzema.”
The Spanish powerhouses might decide to “wait patiently” until Haaland’s €200 million release clause becomes effective in 2024.
According to a recent article by Ben Jacobs, Haaland’s release clause “can only be triggered by non-Premier League clubs.”
The more successful he is, the more interest he will get, but Pep Guardiola has publicly denied that there is a release clause that only applies to Real Madrid. Jacobs provided writing for Caught Offside.
Although things will alter a little in the summer of 2024 when a €200 million release clause starts to take effect, it can only be triggered by non-Premier League clubs, there is no active release clause in his deal.
The longer Haaland is at Manchester City, the less of an impact the option will have since, even if someone outside the Premier League wanted to activate it, they would still prefer not to agree to its requirements.