Erling Haaland has signed a new contract at Manchester City that ties him to the Premier League champions until 2034.
City announced the new 9 1/2-year deal on Friday for the 24-year-old Haaland, who has scored 111 goals in 125 games since joining the club from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 to establish himself as one of the best strikers in the world.
“Now I want to keep developing, keep working to get better and look to do my best to try and help us achieve more success going forward,” Haaland said in a City statement.
The Norway striker will be turning age 34 when the contract expires.
The Athletic reported that the deal removed release clauses that were in his previous deal, which was due to expire in June 2027.
“Everyone at the club is absolutely delighted that Erling has signed his new contract,” said Txiki Begiristain, City’s outgoing director of football. “The fact he is signed for so long demonstrates our commitment to him as a player, and his love of this club.”
The new deal for Haaland comes as City awaits a verdict after being charged with 115 breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules.
“Now I am City no matter what,” Haaland said.
It kickstarts what looks like being a busy few weeks for City, which is expected to buy multiple players with the team enduring its worst season since Pep Guardiola joined as manager in 2016.
City is sixth in the Premier League after 21 games of a title defense that has been derailed by injuries to key players and a dip in form of others. Guardiola's team isn't even sure of advancing to the knockout stage of the Champions League, either.
City has been linked with signing striker Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt and young defenders Abdukodir Khusanov from Lens and Vitor Reis from Palmeiras. They would reportedly cost more than $150 million.
“I am really confident that we will turn things around," Haaland said. "Things have been difficult as we are so used to winning games, but also it is a challenge for us.
"To get this feeling of hunger inside every single one of us to not look at things easier. Don’t take things for granted, that is an important thing. I will do everything I can to change things around.”
Haaland scored 52 goals in all competitions in his first season with City, including a single-season record 36 in the Premier League.
He scored 38 goals in 45 appearances last season and has 21 goals already in this campaign.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Steve Douglas, The Associated Press
