Erling Haaland: Real Madrid chief reveals ‘confidence’ in signing Man City star over lunch

· Football365

Florentino Perez is ‘increasingly confident’ in Real Madrid signing Erling Haaland at the end of the season as agents of Manchester City players ‘explore free transfer exits’.

Florentino Perez is ‘increasingly confident’ in Real Madrid signing Erling Haaland at the end of the season as agents of Manchester City players ‘explore free transfer exits’.

City were found guilty of breaching 114 Premier League rules by an independent commission last month, as the panel found them to have used ‘sham’ sponsorship deals to boost they earnings by around £900m between 2009 and 2018.

The club have now appealed that verdict as they insist upon their innocence and claim they have ‘irrefutable evidence’ to prove it, in the form of documents showing that the sponsorship funds came from the Abu Dhabi government rather from their owners.

Possible punishments if the appeal fails include fines, transfer bans, points deductions, Premier League expulsion and titles being stripped, while the owners could also be removed by the Independent Football Regulator.

Sanctions could lead Man City players to push for an exit from the club and Erling Haaland is predictably the cause of great speculation.

Although a report earlier on Sunday claimed Barcelona is ‘the destination he would be willing to accept’ if City face relegation, journalist Nick Harris – who’s been at the centre of reporting on the Premier League’s case against Manchester City throughout – has revealed president Perez is ‘increasingly confident Erling Haaland will be a Real Madrid player next season’.

That’s ‘according to a contact who had lunch with Perez recently’, Harris wrote on X, before adding that ‘multiple MCFC players’ agents exploring how their players might leave on free transfers if all City appeals fail. IF.’

When asked about the Man City guilty verdict and his own future, Haaland recently told TV2: “The investigation covered 2009 to 2018. In 2009, I played for Bryne U9s. In 2010, the U10s. In 2011, the U11s.

> “2012, the U12s, 2012, the U13s. Shall we continue?”

The journalist said: “We don’t need the whole list.”

But Haaland continued anyway: “2014, the U14s. 2015, the U15s and the national team. 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. There were quite a few Norwegians at the club during that period, I think. 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.”

When asked on Saturday if the situation at Man City impacts his own thoughts on his future at the club, Haaland said: “I understand that you want a little headline here, but as I said, I signed a long-term contract in 2024. 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.”

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