Pep Guardiola walked off the Etihad pitch for the last time as Manchester City manager on Sunday, his 593rd and final game in charge ending in an emotional Premier League defeat. Ollie Watkins scored twice for Aston Villa, spoiling what was meant to be a farewell celebration for the Catalan coach. The result capped a tumultuous week for the club, with star striker Erling Haaland’s mooted move to Real Madrid also appearing to collapse.
Haaland, who has been heavily linked with a summer switch to the Bernabéu, now looks set to remain at City after Real’s presidential election saw Florentino Pérez defeat rival Enrique Riquelme. Riquelme, who had promised to sign the Norwegian if he won, claimed Haaland “has a release clause and would like to join Real Madrid.” However, City swiftly denied the existence of any such clause, saying: “There is no chance of this happening and there is no contractual clause to enable it. We are considering legal action for the use of our player image in this context.”
“Pep Guardiola's final game as Man City boss ended in defeat as Ollie Watkins scored twice for Aston Villa.”
Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, and his agent, Rafaela Pimenta, issued a joint statement dismissing the talk as “all very entertaining but not true.” Pérez then moved to calm City’s nerves, promising “the largest transfer fee Real Madrid has ever paid” for a player from a major Champions League club, but stressed it would not be Haaland—nor Michael Olise or Jeremy Doku.
The striker, who was born in Leeds and supported Daniel Farke’s side, has previously spoken of his desire to play for Leeds United. In a 2017 interview with Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten while at Molde, Haaland said: “I want to be the best. The dream is to win the Premier League with Leeds.” His father, Alf-Inge, represented the Yorkshire club between 1997 and 2000. After scoring a brace at Elland Road in 2022, Haaland refused to celebrate, calling it “a really special moment in my career… my craziest fantasy that I could be at Elland Road and score for Manchester City against Leeds.”
For now, City fans can rest easy knowing Haaland is not heading to Madrid. But with Guardiola’s era now over and the club facing a rebuild, the striker’s long-term ambitions remain a tantalising subplot.