MANCHESTER, United Kingdom —
Manchester City are still licking their wounds
from another painful Champions League exit, but by winning the race to sign
Erling Haaland they have established themselves as a go-to destination for
Europe’s top talent.
اضافة اعلان
The 21-year-old
goalscoring phenomenon had his choice of the continent’s top clubs thanks to a
reported buyout clause of 60 million euros that will see him leave
Borussia Dortmund well below his market value.
Real Madrid wanted
to pair the Norwegian with
Kylian Mbappe at the Bernabeu next season, Barcelona
sought him as a successor to Lionel Messi, while Bayern Munich again aimed to
swoop on their Bundesliga rivals.
Haaland, however,
will instead line up in City blue next season, just as his father Alf-Inge did
between 2000–2003 during a very different era for the club.
The arrival of
petrodollars from
Abu Dhabi has long since transformed City’s fortunes, with
Pep Guardiola’s men now on the brink of a fourth Premier League title in five
seasons.
But Haaland is the
man City need to fill a void if they are to reach the next level — a superstar
striker.
City have played
the best part of two seasons without a recognized number nine.
An attempt to land
Harry Kane as Sergio Aguero’s successor fell short last summer and it may have
cost City another shot at Champions League glory.
Despite beating
Real Madrid 4-2 in the first leg of their semi-final, Guardiola’s men missed a
series of sitters to put the tie to bed.
That came back to
haunt them last week as Real miraculously hauled themselves off the floor to
score twice in the final seconds of the second leg and set up a final against
Liverpool, City’s nearest challengers for the Premier League trophy.
Haaland, however
has scored 23 goals in just 19 Champions League appearances for Salzburg and
Dortmund.
City future-proofing
What remains to be seen is how well he can be embedded into Guardiola’s
system.
League titles won
with Samuel Eto’o at Barcelona, Robert Lewandowski in his time at Bayern Munich
and Aguero in his early years at City dispells the notion Guardiola’s football
cannot accommodate a number nine.
But the recent
story of City’s success under the Catalan coach has been one of collective
brilliance.
Riyad Mahrez is
their top scorer with 24 goals in all competitions this season, ahead of Raheem
Sterling (16), Kevin De Bruyne (15) and Phil Foden (14).
Not all superstar
signings have gone as planned for Guardiola in the past.
Haaland’s arrival
has sparked comparisons with
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s ill-fated season at Barcelona
in 2009/10.
And Jack Grealish,
despite costing City £100 million to make him the most expensive player in
English football history, has spent much of this season on the bench.
But by landing one
of
Europe’s hottest properties, City are also looking to a future beyond
Guardiola, whose current contract runs out in 2023.
Now they will have at least one season together to try to
satisfy City’s desperate desire for a first Champions League title.
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