How Man City convinced Erling Haaland to reject Real Madrid and agree to £64m transfer

Manchester City are on the verge of wrapping up Erling Haaland’s £64million move to the Etihad after the deal made significant progress in the last seven days.

Haaland agreed terms on the deal in the spring but the move is now close to being completed, with City prepared to trigger his release clause this week in a move that kick starts a huge summer in the transfer market.

Borussia Dortmund director Sebastien Kehl told Sport1 over the weekend there would be “clarity” this week and admitted there was a good chance he would move on.

City have beaten Real Madrid to his signature, agreeing to pay his £500,000-per-week wages and a significant fee to his agents, despite Haaland initially feeling he wanted to move to Spain.

They have been able to convince him about a move to Manchester, however, in a move that finally lands Pep Guardiola the world-class striker he missed out on last summer when Harry Kane stayed at Tottenham.

revealed in March that Haaland was set for a move to Manchester City after his team commissioned data research to see which team would best suit his style.

The main motivation for his next move has always been footballing reasons and which club would fit his desire to become the best player in the world.

Haaland wants to win the Ballon D’Or and compete in the latter stages of the Champions League and the prospect of working under Guardiola is said to excite him.

It is one of the biggest transfer deals in recent history and industry insiders expect the Premier League’s big clubs to break records as they return to pre-pandemic spending levels.

With a new overseas TV deal that guarantees a share of £10.4bn to all 20 teams in the league kicking in over the summer, clubs are expected to return to the market after a lean couple of years following the pandemic and behind-closed-doors football.

Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle are all eyeing significant upgrades to their squads, while Manchester City, Liverpool and Spurs all have money to spend and are expected to be active in the market.

Either Mikel Arteta or Antonio Conte’s hand will be significantly strengthened depending on whether they can secure Champions League football.

But Haaland’s move to Manchester City will redefine the standards set by Guardiola’s side, who look set to clinch a second successive title after extending their lead to three points over the weekend.