Manchester City have completed the signing of former Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland. The Norwegian signed a five-year deal with City which will see him at the club at least until the summer of 2027.
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Haaland had a number of teams chasing him including the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. In the end, the 21-year-old opted for Man City taking into account the sporting project alongside the economic one.
"“This is a proud day for me and my family,” Haaland told mancity.com after completing his move.“I have always watched City and have loved doing so in recent seasons. You can’t help but admire their style of play, it’s exciting and they create a lot of chances, which is perfect for a player like me.“There are so many world-class players in this squad and Pep is one of the greatest managers of all-time, so I believe I am in the right place to fulfil my ambitions.“I want to score goals, win trophies and improve as a footballer and I am confident I can do that here. This is a great move for me and I can’t wait to get started in pre-season.”Source: Manchester City"
A striker was the missing piece of the puzzle for Pep Guardiola as his team, despite winning the Premier League, certainly felt they came up short. This was particularly true in the Champions League, where the Citizens let a lead slip late against Real Madrid. Had they had Haaland, he might have finished a couple of the chances some of the City players let slip.
Having paid Dortmund only €60 million for Haaland, City may feel like they got themselves a bargain even taking into account the commissions paid to agents and the like.
This past season was one of ups-and-downs both on the personal and team front. Dortmund were Dortmund in that they lost games one wouldn’t have expected them to lose and they were bounced from the Champions League early.
Haaland dealt with injuries that forced him to miss a chunk of time. Regardless, he still registered 22 goals and seven assist in 24 games in the Bundesliga. In the Champions League, he scored three times in three matches.
Manchester City were already a force to be reckoned with both domestically and in Europe. Their goal of winning the Champions League has gotten one step closer with the addition of Haaland. They’ll likely be among the favorites to win it come next season.