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Erling Braut Haaland close to Man City move - Guillem Balague

Erling Braut Haaland close to Man City move - Guillem Balague
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is "very close" to reaching an agreement to join Manchester City, according to Guillem Balague.

Haaland's contract expires in 2024 but a release clause allows him to leave for 75m euros (£62.8m) this summer.

Balague believes City have sold the Norway forward, 21, the idea of joining now before moving on to Real Madrid.

"He will be at Manchester City, I feel," said Balague, BBC Sport's European football expert.

"There's no agreement but they're very close."

City, Real and Barcelona have all spoken to Haaland but the former Red Bull Salzburg striker ruled out Barca before Karim Benzema's recent form for Real apparently made up his mind to join the Premier League leaders.

The France striker, 34, has scored successive hat-tricks in the Champions League knockout stage, helping him to a career-best 39 goals so far this season.

"Haaland has known for a while what Real Madrid and Manchester City are offering, and others, but those are the two clubs that are left," Balague said on the Euro Leagues podcast.

"Something has happened in the last couple of weeks, something called Benzema, that has turned the mind of Haaland into 'you know what, I can go to Madrid in two or three years'.

"And that, by the way, was the proposal City put to him. Not only was it the most attractive financial proposition, they also said 'you're young, stay with us for two or three years, we'll use you well, meanwhile Real Madrid will always be there'."

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As it stands Benzema, who has taken over as Real's leading scorer since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, has another year on his contract.

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola is also under contract until 2023 but the reigning Premier League champions hope the arrival of Haaland will "convince him to stay another year at least," says Balague.

"If Benzema was not there, [Haaland] would be a Real Madrid player," he added. "The attractiveness of Real Madrid - I would add Barcelona as well - goes beyond any money Manchester City can offer.

"But Manchester City have played their cards. One of them is financial, the other is 'Pep Guardiola's here - if you come in, he'll probably stay for a bit longer'. That's something Pep is considering."

Guardiola has managed without a traditional central striker for much of the last two seasons, with Sergio Aguero making just 12 Premier League appearances in 2020-21 before joining Barcelona last summer.

"He has been desperate for a striker," said Balague. "They just don't score enough goals compared with the amount of times they shoot.

"For a time, they thought it could be Lionel Messi. Obviously they tried for Harry Kane. They also thought it could be Cristiano Ronaldo.

"It will be fascinating to see how Haaland will adapt to what Pep wants from him. He's very good on transition but when there's no space, he may initially struggle.

"I think, though, he will do work to open space for other players on the team. He is a perfect fit - like a glove to a hand."
Erling Braut Haaland close to Man City move - Guillem Balague
BBC
7 hours ago
Cover picture for the articleBorussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is "very close" to reaching an agreement to join Manchester City, according to Guillem Balague. Haaland's contract expires in 2024 but a release clause allows him to leave for 75m euros (£62.8m) this summer. Balague believes City have sold the Norway forward,...

Cristiano Ronaldo trains alongside his team-mates for the first time since the Manchester United star announced the tragic death of his baby son... raising the possibility that he could be ready to play against Arsenal on Saturday
Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to train alongside his Manchester United team-mates for the first time since he announced the tragic death of hisErling Braut Haaland has scored 33 goals in 31 appearances for club and country this season
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is “very close” to reaching an agreement to join Manchester City, according to Guillem Balague.

Haaland’s contract expires in 2024 but a release clause allows him to leave for 75m euros (£62.8m) this summer.

Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland is very close to reaching an agreement to join Manchester City, according to Guillem Balague.

Haaland's contract expires in 2024 but a release clause allows him to leave for 75m euros (62.8m) this summer.

Balague believes City have sold the Norway forward, 21, the idea of joining now before moving on to Real Madrid.

He will be at Manchester City, I feel, said Balague, the BBC Sport's European football expert.

There's no agreement but they're very close.

City, Real and Barcelona all spoke with Haaland, with the former Red Bull Salzburg striker ruling out Barca before Karim Benzema's recent form for Real apparently made up his mind.

The France striker, 34, has scored successive hat-tricks in the Champions League knockout stages, helping him to a career-best 39 goals so far this season.

Haaland has known for a while what Real Madrid and Manchester City are offering, and others, but those are the two clubs that are left, Balague said on the Euro League podcast.

ERLING Haaland scored a brace to help second-placed Borussia Dortmund thrash VfL Wolfsburg 6-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund have temporarily cut the gap to leaders Bayern Munich to six points, just a week before their clash at the Allianz Arena.

The Bavarians, however, still have a trip to Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday.

Cologne also had no trouble in beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 after a brilliant first half to go on to win the Rhine derby.

Borussia Dortmund scored three goals within four minutes after debutant Tom Rothe broke the deadlock in the 24th minute.

“I am happy with the game. Nevertheless, I am still looking forward to the egg hunt with the family,” the 17-year-old defender said.

Axel Witsel followed, sending the ball past goalkeeper Koen Casteels after a Haaland assist in the 26th minute.

Manuel Akanji stretched his leg to complete a Marco Reus free-kick in the 28th minute.

Emre Can then had plenty of space to run before hitting the net from outside the penalty box and Haaland got his first goal before the break.

The Norwegian sealed the spectacular win in the second half after a lovely team effort, while Ridle Baku got the hopeless Wolfsburg side a late consolation goal.

“We had a good feeling before the game, today everything was just right. Having scored six goals, Easter is a good time to celebrate at home,” coach Marco Rose said.

Wolfsburg coach Florian Kohfeldt said his side had a “desolate performance in all aspects” in the first half.

“One hard knock was enough to throw us off course. And the problem is not new.

“We now have to concentrate on getting the two wins we still need,” he said, referring to the points Wolfsburg, currently 13th, need to secure themselves in the Bundesliga.

Anthony Modeste wasted no time and broke the deadlock for Cologne with a stunning first-time finish with five minutes played.

Florian Kainz added a second in the 20th minute, and Dejan Ljubicic gave the visitors a good advantage before the break.

Gladbach returned in better shape for the second half, but only managed to hit the net in the 85th minute through Breel Embolo.

Currently sixth with 46 points, Cologne are five behind RB Leipzig, who are the first team in the qualification zone for the UEFA Champions League and visit Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.

Also fighting for a UEFA Champions League spot, Freiburg beat VfL Bochum 3-0 and now have the same 51 points as RB Leipzig.

Lukas Kübler scored an early goal to give Freiburg the lead and Roland Sallai secured the win with a brace.

Elsewhere, Suat Serdar gave Hertha Berlin their first away win since October.

“That was essential, 90 minutes of fight,” Hertha Berlin coach Felix Magath said after the “emotional victory.”

Hertha Berlin bounced back from the derby defeat to Union Berlin with a 1-0 triumph over Augsburg.

The capital team took some important three points and left the relegation zone, as they were helped by VfB Stuttgart’s goalless draw at Mainz.

Stuttgart are now 16th in the relegation playoff spot.

Also on Sunday, Eintracht Frankfurt visit Union Berlin, while Hoffenheim welcome Greuther Fürth.(dpa/NAN)

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