Erling Haaland could reportedly leave Manchester City in June after the club were hit with 115 charges relating to the Premier League’s financial rules.
The Premier League made the bombshell announcement on Monday with a number of charges brought against the club from a period between 2009 and 2018.
There has been speculation as to what it could mean for the Citizens if found guilty with anything from fines to expulsion from the league on the table.
And that has created doubt around the future of manager Pep Guardiola and a number of their star players with Manchester City set for a period of uncertainty.
When questioned in 2020 about the UEFA investigation into Man City’s financial affairs, Guardiola said: “When Manchester City is accused of something, like skipping the Financial Fair Play, I ask the board. They explain it to me and I believe them. But I tell them ‘if you’re lying to me, I’ll leave and I won’t be a friend anymore.””
There have already been reported cracks in the relationship between some players and Guardiola this season with rumours he and Joao Cancelo were involved in bust-up before he left, which the Portugal international denied during his unveiling as a new Bayern Munich player.
There was another report in Spain that indicated Haaland’s relationship with the Man City boss is ‘starting to crack’ with a ‘bad atmosphere’ brewing at the club.
And now Spanish publication Nacional insist that Haaland is ‘already questioning whether he made the best possible decision by going to the Etihad Stadium’.
The Norway international has come in for some criticism in recent weeks with some pundits questioning his impact on the way Man City play.
Despite scoring an unbelievable 25 Premier League goals in 20 matches, defending champions Manchester City are second in the table and five points behind leaders Arsenal, who have a game in hand.
The report adds that his relationship with Guardiola is ‘terrible’ and he’s looking for a ‘change scenery before’ his €200m release clause activates in 2024.
Haaland is convinced his ‘next challenge would be in La Liga’ with Real Madrid and Barcelona keen on the Norwegian, although ‘financially it seems an unfeasible possibility’ for the latter.
That means Real Madrid are the ‘clear favourites’ to land Haaland, while ‘Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain could also enter’ – but Los Blancos are set to be the ‘great beneficiary of the punishment against City.’
In another report Nacional insists that Guardiola is also ‘really worried’ that his project will ‘fall apart’ if City are sanctioned and he already has a ‘very interesting offer on the table’ from the Brazilian soccer federation.
They ‘had ruled out this operation because of the financial demands’ but they have now been given encouragement and ‘believe that he would be the best possible successor to Tite’.
READ MORE: Manchester City stars reassigned upon expulsion: Everton get Haaland and old target joins Arsenal