Manchester City’s pursuit of Erling Haaland has been given an apparent boost after their European rivals ruled themselves out of the transfer race.
The Borussia Dortmund superstar, who has 28 goals in 29 games for his club this season, has been strongly linked with a move to the Etihad this summer. His reported £63m release clause is likely to be triggered at the end of the campaign, with City holding a long-term interest in his services.
Real Madrid are said to still have an avid interest in the 21-year-old with Paris Saint-Germain also on the periphery. Only a handful of European giants are will be able to sustain Haaland 's mega wage demands, with Liverpool and Manchester United initially linked but unlikely to make the move now.
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Now, Bayern Munich have followed suit. The Bundesliga champions are known for cherry-picking Dortmund’s best players, such as Robert Lewandowski and Mario Gotze in the past, which fuels their dominance in Germany.
But director Hasan Salihamidzic has revealed that this will not be the case with Haaland. Speaking to German outlet Sport1, he said: “We won’t be Erling Haaland’s next club — that’s for sure.”
Reports have estimated that a Haaland transfer will be worth up to £250m once add-on fees and wages are included. It means the potential options for the striker are narrow, but City look set prepared to hand him a bumper wage offer to solve Pep Guardiola's striking problem.
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