Pep Guardiola recently denied reports that Erling Haaland has a clause that would allow him to join Real Madrid for an agreed fee at the end of next season, but journalist Fernando Sanz is standing by his reporting and is adamant the clause exists.
Guardiola played down the idea of Haaland leaving City and wouldn’t entertain the rumours, but Sanz noted that Borussia Dortmund denied that Haaland had a release clause when it turned out to be true, so he’s not worried about Pep’s response.
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Sanz told El Chiringuito via Mundo Deportivo: “It’s up to Guardiola to say what he has said. The clause exists and the amount I can’t say yet. I remember when (Haaland) was at Dortmund people said there was no clause, (but) Manchester City benefited from that and were able to sign him.
“I remember the signing of Luis Figo, who said it was all a lie in a newspaper and the next day he was at Madrid. Guardiola said that because of the pandemic crisis they could not make any money and months later they signed Haaland.
“Everyone says what is convenient. I’m not saying that they have exclusive priority. I say that, in this case, there is a clause with favourable conditions to go to Madrid.”
Karim Benzema has had a decent start to the new season with four goals from eight games, but Real need a long-term replacement for the 34-year-old. Los Blancos were desperate to sign Haaland before losing out to City and it doesn’t appear that they’re giving up on the 22-year-old.
Haaland has scored 19 goals from 12 games this season, so there isn’t a better striker in Europe’s top-five leagues. Guardiola will understandably be desperate to keep the Norwegian international for the long-term, so he won’t publicly admit to any clause in his contract.
The past report from Spain stated that Real could sign Haaland for £156.9m in 2024, but time will tell if it ends up being true.
In other news, Pep Guardiola delivers injury update on Kyle Walker
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