It was an emotional affair during Borussia Dortmund’s final league game against Hertha Berlin on Saturday as their talisman forward Erling Haaland bid farewell to the Signal Iduna Park ahead of his move to Manchester City next season.
As confirmed by Man City’s official announcement, the Norwegian will spearhead Pep Guardiola’s attack next season after the English side met the £51 million fee alongside the agent’s fees and bonuses taking the total expenditure to £85.6 million, as per the Times.
Despite the add-ons, City are set to acquire one of the most promising talents in the world (scoring 86 times in 89 appearances) and doing so below the 100 million mark is a feat in today’s transfer market.
The player managed to live up to the expectations of his new club as he went on to score even in his last game on Saturday, where he got deafening applause and support from the infamous ‘Yellow Wall’.
While he has been able to win only the German Cup with BVB despite his goalscoring prowess, the move to City would boost his chances of obtaining silverware with Pep’s team almost setting up a monopoly in the Premier League.
Following the conclusion of his commitments with Dortmund, Haaland was spotted out clubbing with fans on Saturday. In footage from the night-out, Haaland can be seen in a BVB tracksuit jumping up and down with fans around him while grooving to Pitbull’s party anthem, “Hotel Room Service”.
Furthermore, the ex-BVB man was also spotted at the bar counter serving up drinks to fans before once again hitting the dance floor in another video.
While celebrations were definitely in order at this emotional and pivotal stage in Haaland’s career, at the same time it might not be setting up a good impression on his future employers.
Pep Guardiola is notoriously known for his no-nonsense attitude with his players throughout his career and the same has been the case during his time at City. In the past, the Spaniard has clashed with big egos, for instance, Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Barcelona, in his team.
This season, Pep disciplined English internationals Phil Foden and Jack Grealish after the duo were spotted on a night out following City’s 7-0 win over Leeds in December.
“I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper they are not going to play,” stated Pep addressing the two players without naming them in his following press conference.
The same treatment can be expected by Haaland as his new manager adores professionalism above everything and the player would need to make changes to his life on and off the pitch as he prepares for his big move to England.
