The story is a rumour, and it comes from a single outlet. Football Insider reported on Saturday that both Arsenal and Real Madrid have already made initial contact with Erling Haaland’s camp, less than 24 hours after an independent panel delivered its verdict against Manchester City.
According to the same report, Barcelona’s interest predates the verdict, but the London and Madrid approaches are new and directly tied to the Friday judgment. No club has publicly acknowledged the contact, and Haaland himself has not spoken.
The verdict that changed the calculation
An independent commission ruled on Friday, 25 September, that Manchester City had breached Premier League financial rules on 114 of the 115 charges brought against the club in February 2023.
Possible sanctions have not yet been set. Under the Premier League’s rulebook, the commission can impose points deductions, strip past titles, hand down substantial fines, or in the most extreme scenario order relegation or expulsion from the league. The club has 14 days to lodge an appeal, and the appeal hearing is expected to conclude within 12 weeks.
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Manchester City have said they intend to appeal and remain, in the words of their own briefing, internally confident of overturning the verdict.
No release clause, City insist
The most persistent rumour attached to the verdict, that Haaland’s contract contains a get-out if the club is relegated, has been publicly rejected by City. Club sources told TeamTalk that the Norwegian and other senior squad members do not possess release clauses of any kind, and that the club is not prepared to entertain what one insider called the doomsday scenario.
Spanish outlet Sport went further, reporting that the Norwegian has no release clause in his City contract in the event of relegation or any other circumstance. Haaland signed a nine-year deal in January 2025 that runs until 2034.
That does not close the door. Barcelona and Real Madrid sources cited in earlier reporting believe there are still mechanisms within the deal that could open a route in 2027, particularly with the European Championship the following summer.
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Barcelona’s plan, now with company
Barcelona had already mapped out a 2027 attempt. Club officials have briefed Lamine Yamal on plans to build an attack around him with Haaland as the centrepiece, an approach tied to the completion of the Camp Nou redevelopment and to the shape of the squad by that point.
Real Madrid’s interest is older. Haaland was heavily linked with the club before his move to City in 2022, and the Bernabeu has kept him on its long-term list.
Arsenal are the newcomer to this particular conversation. Mikel Arteta signed a contract extension only days ago that is expected to keep him at the Emirates until 2030.
For now, everything sits in the conditional. The verdict is real, the sanctions are not yet known, and the reported contacts remain unconfirmed by any of the parties involved. The 14-day appeal window closes on 9 October.
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