Erling Haaland Reserving Special Release Clause For Real Madrid? Manchester City Forward's Demands Ahead of New Contract Extension: Report

Erling Haaland is close to signing a new deal with Manchester City. His current contract is scheduled to expire in the summer of 2027. Manchester City reportedly wants to hand the star forward a contract extension, and in an intersting turn of events, it is believed that the fresh deal will include a release clause that may get triggered by the Spanish giants– Real Madrid or Barcelona– in the future, Marca reported citing anonymous sources.

Haaland joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 on a five-year deal. The reigning Premier League champions activated a release clause of €60 million to complete his signing. Haaland’s current contract with Manchester City already has a €200 million release clause that came into effect this summer. It was reportedly meant for non-Premier League clubs.

According to the Marca report, Haaland has requested Manchester City to lower the amount in his new contract as he wants to keep the door open for a move to other European clubs.

The release clause will reportedly decrease to €175 million by the summer of 2025 and it will go even lower in the following year. Erling Haaland, however, wants to modify this in his next contract. Real Madrid, reportedly, kept their eyes on the Norwegian forward last summer. The LaLiga giants would have made a move for him had they failed to secure the signing of Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

Last year, Erling Haaland’s agent Rafaela Pimenta spoke about Real Madrid’s transfer ambitions. “There is the Premier League, and there is Real Madrid, and Real Madrid has something of its own that makes it the dreamland for the players. Madrid keeps this magic going. It doesn’t have the league competition but it does have the Champions League,” Pimenta told Eurosport, as quoted by Sportskeeda.

The Marca report also claimed that Manchester City plan to make Erling Haaland the highest-paid footballer in the Premier League, surpassing his teammate Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder presently earns weekly wages of £425,000. Meanwhile, Manchester City pay Haaland a basic salary of £375,000 each week. Daily Mail reports that the amount will breach the £850,000 mark, thanks to bonuses following the contract renewal.

Erling Haaland has been at his best in the ongoing campaign. The Manchester City striker has so far netted seven goals in three Premier League appearances. He registered back-to-back hat-tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham United before the international break.