Erling Haaland has responded to the more than 100 alleged Premier League financial rule breaches facing Manchester City, using a joke about his youth career to avoid giving a detailed answer about the case.
The Manchester City striker was speaking after scoring in Norway’s 3-1 Nations League victory over Wales, managed by Craig Bellamy. He was asked about the legal proceedings involving his club, but replied by listing the teams he played for before becoming a senior player.
“In 2009, I played for Bryne Under-9s, in 2010 the Under-10s, and in 2011 the Under-11s,” Haaland said, according to The Sun. “In 2012 I played for the Under-12s and then the Under-13s. Shall we continue the list? We don’t need to mention all of it.”
He then continued with the list, saying: “In 2014 I played for the Under-14s, in 2015 the Under-15s and the national team. After that I played for the Under-16s, I think. In 2016 I moved into the first team, second team and youth team at Bryne.”
Haaland added that he joined Molde in 2017 and played for the club in 2018, including for the first team and Molde 2, while also spending some time with the youth side.
“It is difficult for me to answer because it is a legal battle,” he said. “It is a case between the Premier League and Manchester City, and a commission will deal with it. Am I supposed to answer that? I’m really not sure.”
The Norway forward also jokingly suggested that some of his international team-mates might be better placed to discuss the matter, having been at Manchester City during the period linked to the allegations.
“I think quite a few Norwegian players were at the club during that time,” he said. “There was Abdisalam Ibrahim, Martin Samuelsen, Omar Elabdellaoui and Kjetil Haug. I think there were others, but I can’t remember their names.”
Haaland said he had not followed the case closely and expected answers to emerge eventually, although he did not know when.
His own focus, he insisted, remained on performing for Manchester City. He signed a five-year contract in 2022 before agreeing a new nine-and-a-half-year deal in late 2024.
“I am a Manchester City player and I am very happy to be there,” he said. “That says everything about this subject.”
Asked whether the case had affected his thinking about his future, Haaland replied: “I understand you want a headline here, but as I said, I signed a long-term contract in 2024. I think I made a very good decision joining Manchester City in 2022, and we can all agree on that.”
He pointed to the trophies he had won and his development on and off the pitch as evidence of his satisfaction, adding that Norway had just won 3-1 and topped their group in Europe.
“Things are not going well for Manchester City in the league, but we will try to change that against Fulham,” he said. “We cannot focus on that now. I need to focus on the Denmark match.”
