Manchester City have announced the capture of Erling Haaland on a five-year deal worth £375,000 a week, paying £51million for the Borussia Dortmund superstar.
Pep Guardiola had wanted to discuss the 21-year-old’s impending move at his news conference earlier in the day but said both clubs had asked him not to.
City released a statement two hours later – which read that they have ‘an agreement in principle with Dortmund’ – and have now sealed the prodigious striker ahead of next season.
Manchester City have completed the signing of Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund
You heard it here first: Sportsmail’s Jack Gaughan and Craig Hope broke the news of City’s deal for Haaland back on March 11 of this year
The Premier League champions beat Real Madrid to his signature and were expected to part with £63m to trigger a release clause in his contract.
But they have secured Haaland for £12m less than that figure – similar finance to Barcelona’s signing of Ferran Torres in January.
The Norway international, who has plundered 85 goals in 88 appearances for Dortmund, is set to earn £375,000 a week over the course of a five-year contract.
The 21-year-old is set to earn £375,000 a week over the course of a five-year contract
That puts Haaland in the highest bracket of earners among Pep Guardiola’s squad and around the same level as talisman Kevin De Bruyne.
City have negotiated with Haaland’s father, former player Alfie, and lawyer Rafaela Pimenta. Agency fees and bonuses will take the outlay to £85m.
A club statement read: ‘Manchester City can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with Borussia Dortmund for the transfer of striker Erling Haaland to the Club on 1st July 2022.’
Dortmund also released a financial statement, noting the transfer will give them ‘positive effect’ for the 2022/23 financial year.
Haaland, pictured as a child in a Man City shirt, is be placed in the highest bracket of earners among Pep Guardiola’s squad
Their statement read: ‘The player Erling Haaland (‘Player’) is close to move from Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA (‘BVB’) to Manchester City Football Club Limited (‘Manchester City’). This is the today’s mutual agreement in principle of all parties.
‘The contractual details now have to be coordinated and completed. Moreover, the realization of the transfer is still subject to the proper and timely processing in accordance with the provisions of the FIFA Transfer Matching System (FIFA TMS).
‘With the realisation of this transfer deal, the management expects a positive effect on the key earnings figures (EBITDA, EBIT) for the 2022/2023 financial year in a range of approx. €35.0 – 40.0m.
‘Due to the opening of the FIFA international transfer window from July 1, 2022 onwards and other regulatory association requirements this transfer deal will not fall in the current 2021/2022 financial year, but in the 2022/2023 financial year.’
Haaland was afforded time off by Dortmund on Monday and the 21-year-old was understood to have undergone medical tests in Brussels, with City legend Vincent Kompany reportedly playing a key role in arranging the medical.
Vincent Kompany is reported to have helped set up Haaland’s secret medical in Brussels
Sportsmail understands a deal between City and Haaland’s camp was completed last week after first reporting last month that the club had agreed terms with the Norway international’s representatives and he was expected to become the Premier League’s highest-paid player, signing a five-year contract.
Haaland is one of the most prolific goalscorers in world football and has netted 85 times in 88 appearances for Dortmund during two-and-a-half years there.
He will bid farewell to the Dortmund supporters after their final Bundesliga game of the season against Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
He had been linked with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United in recent months but Pep Guardiola’s side have beaten the competition to his signature.
Sportsmail reported last month that City had agreed terms with Haaland’s representatives
His father, Alf-Inge Haaland, spent three seasons at Manchester City during his playing career.
He could make his first appearances in City colours during their pre-season tour of the United States with a match against Mexicans Club America scheduled for July 21 in Houston.
Once the season ends, Haaland is set to play four UEFA Nations League matches for Norway during June.
Ahead of the confirmation of Haaland’s £51m move, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has suggested his side had faced an impossible battle to keep hold of the prolific striker as they had to ‘fight against big clubs with oligarchs and the Arabian states’ behind them.
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke insisted that his side have to ‘fight against big clubs with oligarchs and the Arabian states’ to keep hold of their star players
In an interview with CNN, Watzke said: ‘That’s the only way for us because when a player performs very well, we have to fight against the big, big, big clubs with the oligarchs and the Arabian states at their back.
‘And this fight we cannot win, but we can win a fight over an 18-year-old player, like Jude Bellingham, because this player loves to play at Borussia Dortmund because we have always 80,000 spectators, it’s a very good atmosphere and the club knows how to manage young players.
‘That’s our way and, okay, we have a good department who are scouting young players every day, but it’s also very important if you have the player here, you must develop him and I think that works … most of the time, it works.’
The 62-year-old insisted that the Bundesliga club will survive Haaland’s departure as they ‘will find the next player’.
The 62-year-old insisted that the Bundesliga club will survive Haaland’s departure
‘It’s a decision for Erling,’ Watzke said. ‘Erling, you know, has an exit clause and he must decide if we wants to take this exit clause or not and he has time to give us his decision. When the time is ready, he will do it.
‘But we [Dortmund] have played football for 113 years, and for 111 years, we played without Erling Haaland. We had Robert Lewandowski and then he left us in 2014, but we played football in ’15, ’16, ’17 until now.
‘Then next came Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and then Erling Haaland and you can be sure if Erling takes a decision to leave us, we will find the next [player] 100 per cent.’
Dortmund have since announced the signing of Karim Adeyemi from Austrian champions RB Salzburg. The 20-year-old completed his medical in Dortmund on Tuesday and signed a contract that will keep him at the club until 30 June 2027.
‘Karim Adeyemi is a highly talented, young German international who through his strong finishing and incredible pace will make a valuable addition to our attacking play,’ says BVB sporting director Michael Zorc.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Kehl – who will serve as BVB’s sporting director from next season – said: ‘After the transfers of Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck, we are getting another very exciting player for next season with Karim Adeyemi.
Borussia Dortmund have since announced the signing of Karim Adeyemi for next season
‘What is more, he is someone who has a strong affinity for BVB, who supported the Black & Yellows as a youngster and who decided to sign for Borussia Dortmund amidst several offers from Europe’s top leagues.
‘His speed and goal-scoring ability are impressive, and although Karim, at just 20 years old, is already at a very advanced stage in his development as a footballer and athlete, we still see enormous potential for more.’
Adeyemi, who is an U21 European Championship winner in 2021, added: ‘As a young boy I was fascinated by the Black & Yellows’ fast-paced football. That’s why, as soon as I heard Dortmund were interested in me, I knew I wanted to sign with BVB.
‘I made the conscious decision to sign a long-term deal because I’m convinced that we’re going to form an exciting team, that with the support of the amazing fans in Dortmund will be able to compete for and win titles in the years to come.’
