'Am I supposed to answer that?': Erling Haaland breaks silence and distances himself from Man City cheating verdict as star striker insists 'I don't really know much' but is 'incredibly happy'

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The Man City star's initial answer lasted for two minutes and 14 seconds, as he reeled off the teams he had represented from 2009 and 2018, the years covered by the charges.

Erling Haaland delivered a monologue of over two minutes detailing the teams he represented in the years covered by the Premier League's investigation into Man City , as the star questioned how he was meant to respond to the club's guilty verdict.

Man City were found guilty of the vast majority of charges brought against them by the Premier League for financial wrongdoing when the verdict was released in September. The club have since appealed.

An independent commission ruled Man City had disguised payments worth £900million in a nine-year period with ‘sham’ deals .

Man City were found to have artificially inflated sponsorship agreements and pumped money into the club from its Abu Dhabi owners via disguised payments in a bid to swerve Premier League spending rules.

Haaland was quizzed about the club's situation by Norwegian broadcaster TV2, after scoring in the national team's 3-1 victory over Wales on Saturday.

The Man City star's initial answer lasted for two minutes and 14 seconds, as he reeled off the teams he had represented from 2009 and 2018, the years covered by the charges.

Haaland stressed he remains happy at the club after being asked about his future given the potential ramificiations if Man City fail with their appeal to overturn the verdict.

> 'In 2009, I played for Bryne U9s. In 2010, the U10s. In 2011, the U11s. 2012, the U12s, 2012, the U13s. Shall we continue? We don't need the whole list. 2014, the U14s. 2015, the U15s and the national team,' Haaland began.

> 'Then the U16s, I think. In 2016, I moved up to Bryne's first team, second team and youth team. In 2017, I went to Molde. In 2018, I was with Molde. The first team, Molde 2 and a bit with the youth team.

> 'So this is a question I struggle to answer because it's a legal battle…

> 'It's a case between the Premier League and Manchester City that a panel will deal with. Am I supposed to answer that? I'm not really sure.'

Haaland continued by listing fellow Norwegians who had been at Man City at the time, joking that they may be in a better place to offer insight.

> 'There were quite a few Norwegians at the club during that period, I think,' Haaland said.

> 'Abdisalam Ibrahim, Martin Samuelsen and Omar Elabdellaoui were there. Kjetil Haug was there too. I think there were a couple more but I can't remember.

> 'But it's a difficult question to answer when I don't really know that much about it.

> 'I assume the answers will come… I don't know when. I haven't read much about it.

> 'To be completely honest, I'm focused on trying to perform for Manchester City.

> 'A club I signed a five-year deal with in 2022 and a new nine-and-a-half-year deal in late 2024. I think that says everything about the matter. I'm a City player, and I'm incredibly happy there.'

Man City have continued to insist they had 'irrefutable evidence' proving their innocence, but if the club loses its appeal, the Premier League have a range of sanctions at their disposal – including relegation or expulsion.

Haaland, who has won eight major honours at the club including the Treble in 2023, was asked about whether the case has affected his thoughts on his Man City future.

> 'I understand that you want a little headline here, but as I said, I signed a long-term contract in 2024,' Haaland responded.

> 'I'd say I made a pretty good choice by joining City in 2022. We can all agree on that. I won't say it myself, but look at the trophies I've won and how I've developed on and off the pitch.

> 'I'm standing here after winning an international 3-1 and we're top of our group in Europe.

> 'Things aren't going so well for City in the league, but we'll try to turn that around against Fulham. But we can't focus on that now. Now we have to focus on Denmark.'

Man City have won twice and lost three times in the Premier League since the independent commission verdict was announced in September.

Enzo Maresca's side have slipped to six points behind reigning champions Arsenal following their drop off in form.

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