Man City boss Pep Guardiola is ‘willing’ to allow Erling Haaland to leave if Real Madrid agree to a swap deal, according to reports.
The Citizens had a poor season by their standards in the 2024/25 campaign with Man City recovering late on to finish third and qualify for the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola’s side finished 13 points adrift of champions Liverpool after winning the Premier League title in the previous four seasons.
An injury to Rodri in September was one of the main reasons for their drop off, while Haaland did not quite reach the heights of his first couple of seasons at Man City, although he still managed 22 Premier League goals.
Man City brought in Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Juma Bah, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez in the January transfer window to help Guardiola finish the campaign strongly.
And they have brought in six signings so far this summer with Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rayan Cherki, James Trafford, Sverre Nypan and Marcus Bettinelli all joining.
Haaland has been consistently linked with a move away from Man City over the last couple of seasons with La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona interested.
However, the Norwegian briefly ended speculation over his future by signing a new contract but there were almost immediately rumours that his new deal included two ‘secret’ break clauses, one if Man City were relegated and another if they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
And now Spanish website Defensa Central claim that Man City boss Guardiola ‘would be willing to exchange’ any Man City player, including Haaland, for Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham.
Guardiola has told the Man City hierarchy that the England international ‘must be signed at all costs’ but Real Madrid ‘does not intend to let Jude Bellingham leave under any circumstances’.
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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez reckons Bellingham ‘is a player worth developing a project around, as his contribution is fundamental, both on and off the field’.
After Haaland allowed Marmoush to take a missed penalty in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace, which they lost 1-0, former Man Utd striker Wayne Rooney claimed it’s moments like that which ‘separates’ the Norwegian from greats like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rooney said on BBC Sport: “Erling Haaland is a world-class forward, but when we’re talking about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, there’s no way they’re giving that ball away.
“That’s what separates those two players from Erling Haaland or Kylian Mbappe and these players. They are selfish and they want to score every game. When he (Haaland) misses chances I think you can see it gets to him and it does affect him.
“Maybe the thought of taking a penalty at Wembley might have been too much for him. You never know, he’s a human being.”
