Erling Haaland's Manchester City contract contains no clause that would let him leave if the club were relegated, according to City sources speaking to TEAMtalk and to the Spanish newspaper Sport. The reports follow The Athletic's revelation on Friday that an independent commission had found City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges brought by the Premier League.
No punishment has been decided. City are expected to appeal, and the commission's written decision has not been published. Nothing so far points to any particular sanction. The charges, and the range of sanctions available, are set out in that report. In a letter to supporters on Saturday, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said the process "still has a long way to run".
What the contract says
Haaland signed in January 2025, and the club says the deal runs until the summer of 2034. The Athletic reported at the time that it removed the release clauses from his previous contract, which was due to expire in June 2027. City have never published the terms.
The club addressed the contract's exit terms on the record in June, after Enrique Riquelme, then a Real Madrid presidential candidate, claimed Haaland had a release clause and wanted to join. A City spokesperson replied:
The stories which have emerged from Spain regarding the future of Erling Haaland are untrue. There is no chance of this happening and there is no contractual clause to enable it.
Manchester City spokesperson, 4 June 2026
That statement answered a claim about Real Madrid, not about relegation. It is still the clearest description the club has given of what the contract allows.
What has been reported since Friday
TEAMtalk reported on Saturday that City sources had reiterated that neither Haaland nor any other player has a release or relegation clause, and that none was added when he signed while the charges were pending. Sport says the same, putting it as no release clause for relegation or any other circumstance. Neither is a club statement.
Sport also cites unnamed reports in England that Haaland could leave from 2030, for a fee that falls as 2034 approaches. The claim is not new. On 18 January 2025, the day after he signed, AS reported that its sources knew of a possible exit clause taking effect in the summer of 2029 or 2030, though not the exact date. A Bola, reporting Sport, carried almost the same 2030 line that day. It has never been confirmed, and it does not sit easily with City's June statement.
Barcelona, and Haaland himself
Speculation followed. Football365 relayed a post on X from the transfer account Indykaila, which claimed a move to Barcelona in 2027 was "on" and cited unnamed sources in the city. It is a social media post rather than reporting, and we have found nothing that supports it.
Haaland has said nothing. Norway's federation withdrew him from Saturday's press conference before Sunday's Nations League match against Portugal, and coach Ståle Solbakken said the aim was to let him concentrate on the game.
[POST-MATCH SLOT: add Haaland's comment if he gives one after Norway v Portugal. Delete this paragraph if not.]
Four days after signing in January 2025, Haaland said he had not thought about the case before committing. "I am confident that the club know what they are doing," he said then.
On the pitch, nothing has moved yet. He has seven goals in seven games for City this season, five of them in the league. City lead the table with 15 points from five games, and their next match is at Anfield on 11 October.
