Man City stormed to a 2-0 win over Everton thanks to a superb Erling Haaland brace – but that may not put to bed fears over the Norwegian’s future, nor manager Pep Guardiola’s
Manchester City icon Richard Dunne believes Erling Haaland will leave the club in two years’ time.
The Norwegian striker joined City in the summer of 2022 and instantly stunned the Premier League with his goal-scoring prowess. Haaland netted an otherworldly 36 goals in 35 league games to mark his debut campaign, breaking the all-time Premier League record for a single season before sealing the club’s first treble.
His stunning goalscoring form has continued this season despite an injury, with the 23-year-old netting two marvellous goals in the win against Everton on Saturday. But there have been reports this month indicating that he wants to leave the Etihad side in favour of Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Several Madrid-based outlets claimed Haaland’s advisors believe the forward needs to join Los Blancos in order to compete for football’s biggest individual prizes, such as the Ballon d’Or. They also claimed he is unhappy with living in the Manchester area.
Manager Pep Guardiola came out and dismissed those claims, saying: “I don’t know, you have to ask the media from Madrid [whether they published the articles to unsettle Haaland]. Maybe they have more info than we have. We don’t have that feeling that he’s unhappy. He was [unhappy] because he could not play for two months because he was injured but maybe the media from Spain, and especially Madrid, have more information than us.
“We cannot say he didn’t adapt quickly [on joining in summer 2022] and he was not fine since he arrived. But we cannot control what people say. What’s important is that he’s happy. And when he’s unhappy, he will make his decision.”
But now former City defender Dunne has added fuel to the fire by saying he believes the former Borussia Dortmund sensation has greater ambitions than remaining at City for the rest of his career, where he could feasibly become the Premier League’s all-time top goalscorer.
Dunne told William Hill: “Erling Haaland will probably want to play for Real Madrid at some time in his career. I think a lot of players would. He’s won the treble at Man City and already achieved everything he can, so I believe that he’ll probably stay another two seasons and then we might see him move on.
“From what I gather, he’s enjoying his time at Man City. I know the reports suggest differently, but he is winning games every week, he’s scoring goals, winning trophies, and he’s got the possibility with that group of players to win the treble again – whether it be this season or next season.
“I don’t see it being an instant worry for the club or for the fans at the moment, but certainly, over the next two or three years, I do think that his wishes would probably be to move on from the club.”
Yet Dunne went on to say how the potential loss of Guardiola is a far more pressing concern, given his huge impact at the club, where he has won five Premier League titles. The Spaniard’s contract ends in the summer of 2025, with his future beyond that still in doubt.
“There’s always a fear of Pep Guardiola leaving Man City,” Dunne pointed out. “If you have a choice of losing Erling Haaland or Pep, you would probably prefer that Haaland left, because Pep is the one who runs the whole show. He’s the one that’s given us the football that we’ve seen over the last few years, so to replace him is going to be the biggest task of all.
“I think he works with a real good backroom and a good hierarchy of friends and colleagues – there’s not many clubs that could probably attract him away from the job that he’s doing at City.
“He’s already created history and legacy at the club and the fans would give him a contract for life if he wanted one. I don’t think there are any concerns that he’s going before his contract ends in 2025, but afterwards, who knows?”
Despite concerns surrounding Haaland’s future, the Norway star was happy in Saturday’s post match interview as he said: “Yeah it’s a good feeling and even better to win. We always work hard as a team, so a fantastic performance. A lot of games people will try and destroy our game, but we are a good team so it is difficult to destroy our game.
“We’ve been on a good run, I think that’s 10 in a row in all competitions. We’re doing quite well. It’s a good thing.”
City regained their place atop the league table after the win against Everton, going one point above Liverpool. The Reds also took on Burnley on Saturday in an attempt to make their extra game count.
