With Erling Haaland signing an eye-watering 10-year contract at Man City on Friday, Arne Slot has used it as an example of “why we all want to be here.”
Friday morning brought the surprise news that Haaland had agreed a new 10-year contract with Man City, tying him to the Premier League champions until 2034.
According to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, the deal – which takes the striker to just before his 34th birthday – has removed the release clauses previously included.
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That it comes with Man City embroiled in an unprecedented case over 130 alleged breaches of the Premier League financial rules could signal a confidence within the Etihad over a positive verdict.
While that remains unclear, the reality of Haaland signing one of the “most lucrative sporting contracts ever” shows the imbalance of spending power within the English top flight.
But speaking soon after the news of the Norwegian’s contract, Slot simply insisted it was another example of “why we all want to be” in the Premier League.
“Not particularly about the investments, but we know how good we have to be every single day to compete in this league,” he told reporters.
“It’s not only the club you are referring to; Chelsea also spent £1.2 billion, United spent an incredible amount.
“Every team spends a lot of money over here, that’s why it’s such an interesting league to be part of.
“Some seasons this club spends a bit more, the other seasons the other clubs spend a bit more.
“That’s what makes this league so intense and so difficult to win.
“But that’s also the reason why we all want to be here, because you want to compete against the best, with the best.
“We are very happy with the team we have at the moment and we are still able to compete with all these teams that are spending incredible amounts of money.”
Haaland’s new contract lands at a time when Liverpool are as yet unable to agree new terms with the trio of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
While Man City clearly operate differently to any other club, Haaland’s previous deal was set to expire in 2027 which, albeit likely fuelled by the upcoming verdict, shows the forward-planning required with elite players.
It is doubtful that this will set a new precedent for those at the very peak of the game, but it will no doubt add to the frustration among Liverpool fans over their own contract situation.
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