Norway manager Ståle Solbakken insists he hasn’t held talks with Manchester City ‘about the media’ since Erling Haaland swapped Borussia Dortmund for the Premier League side in 2022.
Last week, The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported the Citizens are guilty of almost all charges for breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations.
At the weekend, Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak talked about their “intent of proving the club’s innocence”. He’s awaiting the final verdict and remains confident of their innocence.
Manchester City guilty claim has no impact on Haaland
On Sunday, Erling Haaland scored in Norway’s 1-2 defeat to Portugal in the UEFA Nations League. A day before this match, he was expected to speak at the pre-match press conference.
However, the striker didn’t appear on Saturday. NRK commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt said the national team made this decision at Manchester City’s insistence. VG have relayed his comments and Ståle Solbakken’s response.
“Nobody believes anything other than that it is Manchester City who has instructed the Norwegian FA to spare their leading jewel from the questions that would have come,” he said.
In short, the commentator was accusing of Manchester City interference in Norway’s media duties to protect the 26-year-old.
| Statistic | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Club | Manchester City | Manchester City |
| Appearances | 48 | 52 |
| Minutes | 4,039 | 4,146 |
| Goals | 34 | 38 |
| Assists | 5 | 9 |
| Goals + assists | 39 | 47 |
| Minutes per goal | 119 | 109 |
Manager hits back at Saltvedt
This has clearly not pleased the Norway manager, who has publicly responded to Jan Petter Saltvedt.
Ståle Solbakken explained: “I can say with my hand on my heart that Saltvedt is talking utter rubbish from A to Z. I haven’t spoken to anyone at Manchester City about the media since Erling was to move from Dortmund to City. That was the last time I spoke to City about the media.”
“That’s a lie. It also undermines my integrity. I go to great lengths to be honest, because this is the people’s national team. I try to give my all and that of the team. You have a duty to show up. But I can’t put up with lies… from one of Norway’s biggest media outlets, the sort of people sitting behind a desk at NRK, tall and dark.”
“He can have my phone and [Morten] Skjønsberg’s phone (media officer) and read all my messages, emails and calls. Then he’ll see that it’s all rubbish.”
“This was a decision I made [giving him a day off on Saturday] without informing Erling. I just said: ‘You can let this go. If you want to go, then you go. But for me you are exempt’.”
In the next few days, Norway will face Wolves and Portugal in the UEFA Nations League.
In the last tie, former Manchester City player Bernardo Silva kicked Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard. The latter was clearly unhappy with the Real Madrid midfielder and remains hopeful the blow won’t force him to miss matches.
