As you’ll be aware, Erling Haaland is set to join Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund sooner rather than later.
Reports today that a deal was imminent were followed by Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund both confirming a deal is in place, although City need to finalise terms with the player first.
There is a lot of information flying around from various sources, but the general trend from England has been that Manchester City are paying less than first thought.
Reports over the last year had indicated it would cost €75m to sign Haaland, but several outlets and journalists in England have reported it will, in fact, be €60m, so around £51m.
That, however, doesn’t seem to have translated to the German press, with Kicker and Sport 1 covering the impending deal this afternoon.
First, Kicker state that Haaland ‘will leave Borussia for €75m’ as that is the value stated in the release clause in his current contract.
That figure put many of the big sides in Europe out of the picture, with Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona and Bayern Munich all pulling out as they ‘could not keep up with the demands’ of Haaland’s entourage or the offer from Manchester City.
Sport 1 say similar and provide further details on the money involved in the transfer, with an eye to the stock market.
They say that BVB have already issued an ‘ad hoc announcement’ to their shareholders about the transfer as they are publicly listed.
“The player Erling Haaland (“Player”) is about to transfer from Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA (“BVB”) to Manchester City Football Club Limited (“Manchester City”). All parties have agreed on this in principle today. The contractual details now remain to be agreed and documented,” the statement reads.
This announcement also includes the German side say they expect “a positive effect on the earnings figures” to the tune of a figure of €35-40m for the 2022/23 financial year.
According to Sport 1’s information, Haaland still has a ‘book value’ of €20m on the club’s books, which was set to be paid off over four years.
In addition, the late Mino Raiola, who was Haaland’s agent until his death, is set to earn €10m for the fee, while his former clubs will pick up some taxes and ‘resale participation’.
The outlet then states that Manchester City informed Dortmund they were paying Haaland’s clause last week and again say the figure was €75m. In other words, €15m more than they’re saying in England.
They also provide details on Haaland’s contract, stating it will be a five year deal for a ‘higher annual gross salary’ than Kevin de Bruyne currently earns.
It’s a huge deal, to say the least, although as far as the German press is concerned, €15m more expensive than their counterparts in England are saying.
