Erling Haaland's long-term contract could cement Manchester City's dominance in Premier League and Europe, says Joe Cole
Published 18/01/2025 at 13:59 GMT
Erling Haaland announced that he had put pen to paper on a deal that will keep him at Manchester City until the summer of 2034 on Friday. The new deal will come as a huge boost to the Premier League champions after a difficult start to the campaign. City sit outside the UEFA Champions League places as they continue to recover from an unprecedented, record winless run.
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TNT Sports experts Joe Cole and Peter Crouch believe Erling Haaland's contract extension has ensured Manchester City will remain among Europe's elite for years to come.
The Norwegian striker signed a new nine-and-a-half-year deal to stay at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2034 on Friday.
Haaland's previous contract was set to expire in 2027, but under the new deal, the forward could stay at the club until he is 34 years old.
Cole believes the contract made sense for both parties after a difficult season for the Premier League champions, having at one point suffered a record low under Pep Guardiola by winning just one game in a 13-match run.
"I think I would have [signed a long-term deal] to be honest with you," said Cole ahead of Newcastle's clash with Bournemouth - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
"That is an unbelievable coup from Manchester City, especially if you think about it in the context and you think about where they are.
"They have fallen off the top spot, they are having financial problems with what is going on in the courts and a manager who was leaving but is now staying.
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'He's only going to get better' - Cole and Crouch on Haaland's new Man City deal
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"When they are trying to re-build they need a fulcrum, they need someone, so when they go to the best players in Europe they can go 'come and play for Manchester City, we are going to get this club back to the top of the Premier League and Champions League again'.
"Then players will sit with their agents and ask who the manager is going to be, but hold on a minute, they have got the best goalscorer in Europe signed to a ten-year contract.
"The statement about it, it is a fantastic decision and I am sure Haaland will not be short of a few bob over the next few years."
The Athletic have reported that the striker's new deal does not include a release clause.
City have suffered a difficult first half of the campaign and sit seventh in the Premier League table, but Haaland has still managed 16 goals.
Cole's fellow TNT Sports pundit Crouch believes that Alan Shearer's all-time Premier League goalscoring record of 260 could be under threat if Haaland remains at City for the duration of his new contract.
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"It is a strange one, there must have been murmurings of people being in for him for them to offer him that," added Crouch.
"They have held his value and I do not think there is a get-out clause in it. So obviously they will hold his value for the next ten years, and I do not think his level will drop, he is only going to get better.
"He has been an absolute revelation since he has been in the Premier League. I think he will break every single record, you look at Alan Shearer's 260, that looks in danger now."
Guardiola's side face Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon, who are languishing in the relegation zone.
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