Erling Haaland has established himself as one of the most lethal strikers in modern football, scoring 117 goals in his first 137 Premier League appearances and opening the 2026/27 season with seven goals in seven matches for Manchester City. Now, following the club's landmark guilty verdict on financial rule breaches, questions are swirling about what his future holds.

What Manchester City's verdict means for Haaland

City were found guilty this week of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League's financial regulations — including arranging what a Premier League statement described as "sham" contracts and concealing the true state of their finances from auditors and football regulators.

That verdict has put renewed focus on Haaland's contract situation. When he originally joined City from Borussia Dortmund, reports indicated he had a £150 million release clause — rising to £200 million for English rivals. However, those clauses are no longer in play.

A nine-and-a-half-year deal with no release clause

In January of last year, Haaland signed a nine-and-a-half-year extension keeping him at the club until 2034 — the longest contract of any player in the Premier League, surpassing Cole Palmer's deal at Chelsea, which expires in 2033. According to Sky Sports, the new agreement also included a pay rise on his previous £400,000-per-week salary, making him the highest-paid player at Manchester City.

Crucially, the extension removed all previous release clauses. A report by Marca states that no relegation clause exists in Haaland's current contract, meaning that "any potential departure would have to take place through a negotiation between the parties or through some contractual condition that has not been made public."

The trust and confidence argument

Should City face forced relegation, the situation could grow considerably more complex. Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, leading sports barrister Paul Gilroy KC outlined a legal avenue that could allow Haaland to walk away — even without a release clause.

"Every contract of employment, whether it's a footballer or someone who works in a shop, has got an implied term in it: in other words, it's not written down. And the implied term we're talking about here is the term of trust and confidence," Gilroy said. "A player could say, 'You have breached the implied term of trust and confidence. You are my employer, you have acted in breach of that term, and that entitles me to say I'm ripping up my contract and I'm walking out.'"

In short, if City were to be relegated as a consequence of the verdict, Haaland could potentially argue that the club's conduct constitutes a fundamental breach of their implied contractual obligations — freeing him to seek a move without a transfer fee being triggered.

Transfermarkt currently values the 26-year-old at €220 million. Manchester City's next Premier League fixture takes them to Liverpool.