Erling Haaland has reaffirmed his commitment to Manchester City despite the Premier League charges hanging over the club, speaking to Norwegian broadcaster TV2 after Norway's 3-1 win over Wales in Oslo on Saturday.
The 26-year-old, who converted from the penalty spot in the victory over Craig Bellamy's side, was questioned about the situation at his club following the final whistle. His opening answer lasted two minutes and 14 seconds and was devoted almost entirely to naming every team he had turned out for between 2009 and 2018 — the period covered by the charges — from Bryne's Under-9s through to Molde's first team, youth side and second string.
He also pointed out, in a wry aside, that several Norwegian players had been at Manchester City during those years and might be better equipped to respond. He named Abdisalam Ibrahim, Martin Samuelsen, Omar Elabdellaoui and Kjetil Haug among those who were at the club in that period.
Haaland said he had read little about the case and, since the investigation pre-dated his time at City, he felt it was not his to answer. He framed it as a legal matter between the Premier League and the club, one for a panel to settle rather than a footballer to weigh in on.
He went on to say that he had signed a five-year deal with City in 2022 and a further nine-and-a-half-year contract in late 2024, and that those decisions reflected everything about his feelings toward the club. "I'd say I made a pretty good choice by joining City in 2022," he told TV2, according to talkSPORT. "We can all agree on that."
City were found guilty in September by an independent commission of the vast majority of the Premier League's financial charges against them. The commission's findings covered a nine-season stretch and included breaches relating to the concealment of funding worth more than £830 million, with the club also found to have artificially inflated sponsorship agreements and routed money from its Abu Dhabi ownership through disguised arrangements to get around spending rules.
The club has since lodged an appeal, maintaining it holds a comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence in its favour. A hearing is scheduled for December, with a decision on the appeal not expected before 2027. Were that appeal to fail, available sanctions range from fines and points deductions to expulsion from the Premier League.
Haaland has collected eight major honours at City, including the Treble in 2023, and took his international tally to 66 goals from 60 Norway appearances with his penalty against Wales. He acknowledged that results in the Premier League had dipped since the September verdict and said his attention was fixed on helping City reverse that form — though his immediate focus turns to Tuesday, when Norway must beat Denmark to secure second place in their group and book a spot in the Nations League quarter-finals.
Reporting: ESPN, Daily Mail, talkSPORT, Evening Standard, Mirror, Metro, GiveMeSport, The Sun.