The plan, as sketched out by Bayern news site FCBinside on 29 September, is less a chase than a positioning exercise. Bayern are among the clubs that would move for Haaland if he becomes available at Manchester City, but there are no active negotiations and the file is treated internally as a long-term scenario rather than a live project.
The timing is the pivot. Harry Kane, 33, is Bayern’s undisputed starting striker, and the German club is understood to want him in Munich for another two years and possibly three. His current deal runs to 2027, and talks over an extension through 2029, with the option of a further year to 2030, are advanced.
The Dortmund card Bayern can play
Haaland’s appeal to Bayern rests on more than his goals. His Bundesliga background matters too: the Norwegian spent two and a half seasons at Borussia Dortmund and knows the league, the travel, the referees and the TV windows that would greet him on a return. He was a Bayern target back in 2022, met then sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić in Munich that March, and ultimately picked the Premier League instead.
The Hard Tackle reported on 22 September that Bayern’s recruitment staff want “a succession plan in place” and are already carrying out early due diligence, viewing the Bundesliga familiarity as a selling point no rival can match.
Read also: Gary Lineker played 654 competitive games and was never shown a single card
The City contract that will not shift
Any plan has to deal with the small print of Haaland’s deal in Manchester. The striker signed a nine-and-a-half-year extension in January 2025 that ties him to the Etihad until 2034, and Manchester City has publicly stated that there is no contractual clause allowing him to leave, after a Real Madrid presidential candidate claimed otherwise on Spanish television.
The backdrop changed on 29 September, when an independent commission found Manchester City guilty of 114 of the 115 financial breaches brought by the Premier League, with sanctions to follow in a separate hearing. The club has said it will appeal, but the verdict has reopened a conversation about which of City’s stars might reassess their position depending on what the punishment looks like, and one report has already clarified that Haaland does not have a relegation release clause either.
Madrid and Barcelona still in front
Spain remains the destination Haaland’s camp has long pointed to. Real Madrid and Barcelona are both reportedly planning moves for the 2027 window, and the Norwegian’s representatives have made little secret of his ambition to play in La Liga at some stage of his career.
That still leaves Bayern as the outlier. They are not pretending the move is imminent, and they are not pitching themselves above the Spanish giants on urgency. What they appear to be doing is slow-cooking a shortlist: Kane for the next two or three seasons, Haaland as the name at the top of the list of who replaces him, if the stars align.
Read also: Maguire breaks silence after Man City ruling with explosive £900m verdict
The next concrete step is on Kane’s side, not Haaland’s. According to reports on 30 September, both sides have agreed the new deal will run until at least 2029, with negotiations now focused on the financial terms if it extends beyond that.
Read also: Rui Pinto turns fire on Infantino after Manchester City verdict
