Erling Haaland might not be able to break his Man City contract, and his £500k-a-week salary could be cut.
Erling Haaland might not be able to just cancel his contract with Manchester City, even though some reports said he could after the club was found guilty of 114 out of 115 charges by the Premier League. Most of these charges relate to financial issues between 2009 and 2018.
An independent commission reviewed the case and found City guilty of using “sham” contracts to make their finances look better than they were. The Premier League said the club arranged secret funding deals worth over £830 million with commercial partners.
The commission also found that City didn’t cooperate properly during the investigation. Some important club witnesses even gave false or dishonest evidence.
Fans are probably worried about what this means for the club’s future, and City’s top players are likely thinking about what to do next. Haaland has already been linked with Barcelona and Arsenal. Other key players like Enzo Fernandez, Elliot Anderson, and Gianluigi Donnarumma might leave if City faces a big punishment, like losing lots of points, which could even mean relegation.
On the Stick to Football podcast, KC Paul Gilroy said players like Haaland might have the right to end their contracts if they can prove the club lied to them. He explained players could say the club broke their trust, allowing them to leave. But it’s complicated and depends on how the club responds and financial details.
However, sports lawyer Dan Chapman told TEAMtalk that relegation wouldn’t automatically let players leave. Players usually don’t have a release clause for relegation, and clubs rarely agree to those.
Chapman also said players’ wages could go down if City were relegated. Haaland currently earns about £500,000 a week. Contracts often include lower pay if the team drops to a lower league. Some players might have had protections added recently because of the ongoing situation, but it’s unclear.
Manchester City announced on October 2 that they had filed an appeal against the Premier League’s decision on October 1. The club strongly denies any wrongdoing and says they have strong evidence to back their case.
The club said: “Manchester City can confirm that on October 1, we filed a comprehensive appeal against the Premier League’s decision. We believe the decision contains serious errors in law and facts. We are innocent and have solid proof to support that. We will follow the proper process and can’t say more until it’s over.”
If the verdict stays, the club could face harsh punishments like points deductions, replaying matches, suspension, paying compensation, relegation, or even losing titles.
There were also reports that the UAE threatened to pull investment from the UK in a warning to Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Manchester City is owned by Abu Dhabi United Group, linked to Sheikh Mansour, a key UAE leader.
This whole situation is causing a lot of talk and tension in football right now.