A report from David Ornstein of The Athletic has indicated that Manchester City has been found guilty on 114 charges of “breaching the Premier League’s financial regulations”, which could throw Europe into chaos.
While it remains to be seen exactly what (if anything) the punishment looks like for Manchester City, there is the potential for players to start to get uneasy about what might happen next. Relegation? A ban on European competition? The possibilities are wide open at this point.
With such
uncertainty, some players might look for an exit plan. It could be argued that threat of these sanctions has already propelled Pep Guardiola to abandon his position as head coach after last season and pushed Rodri to jump to FC Barcelona last summer.
For English players making a handsome salary like Phil Foden, Marc Guéhi, and Elliot Anderson, there could be an argument to just grin-and-bear whatever is coming down the pike. For an international superstar like Erling Haaland, though, these potential penalties could push him to want to leave.
There are only a few clubs in the world that could handle the scale of this kind of move. Capology has Haaland’s financial package listed as €31.7 million in a salary, plus another €21.1 million in a bonus — bringing the total to €52.8 million.
That kind of salary would be difficult for many clubs to even think about handling, but there would also be a pretty massive transfer fee attached to such a move as well.
Simply put, it would not be for any club lacking a strong will and deep pockets.
Enter Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, and FC Barcelona.
PSG, as the current “King of Europe”, certainly has the money and roster to be an appealing option for the Norwegian Nightmare. However, Haaland has been rumored to want to play in Spain, which could make both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona frontrunners for the goal scorer.
Real Madrid could offer a lot of money, a massive platform, and a star-studded (but maybe potentially flawed) roster, while FC Barcelona could be the “just right” solution. A club in desperate need of a striker, with an up-and-coming cast of stars, and a coach who has a proven track record of taking strikers to new heights.
While Bayern Munich has had interest in Haaland three different times already, the club is about to ink Harry Kane to a contract extension, which would seemingly preclude the Bavarians from engaging in this kind of sweepstakes (though, it is fun to think about what it would look like with Kane and Haaland playing together).
Could Manchester City’s mess end up making FC Barcelona the primary powerhouse in Europe once again?
At a minimum, it is a possibility, but PSG and Real Madrid would both also make strong arguments should Haaland want to force his way out of City after this season.
Haaland would likely not be alone, though. Enzo Fernandez, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias, Rayan Cherki, Josko Gvardiol, and a host of other talents could seek to to push for an exit if drastic punishments drop on Manchester City.
While a Haaland exit could potentially swing the balance of power on the continent, a mass exodus of talent from City could also shake things up in a big way for multiple clubs.
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