Yes, you have read the headline right. It’s not a typo. It’s not a technical glitch either. Also, this doesn’t fall under some category of ‘football fantasy fiction!’ It is what it is.
Manchester City gave Erling Haaland “an offer he can’t refuse”. An immensely lucrative nine-and-a-half-year long contract which runs till 2034!
The previous deal was supposed to expire in the summer of 2027. Now, by signing on the dotted lines of such a loooooong contract, the Norwegian has put all speculations to rest; including his rumoured move to Madrid in a few years.
Haaland has been nothing short of a phenomenon since his arrival from Dortmund in 2022. His numbers in the blue shirt and white pants makes one look eccentric — 111 goals in 126 matches.
He has won City its historic treble along with another PL title, Community Shield, and a Super Cup. And now he enters a celestial world, defying time, the greatest of all defenders.
Now, ask yourself as an FPL manager. Will you play the football fantasy game, say, ten years down the line? Ummm…. Not sure? Maybe you will be playing, maybe it will be too stressful for your body. But … Erling ‘Stat-Padding’ Haaland will be there as an FPL asset for at least the next ten years.
It has been revealed by ace football journalist David Ornstein that all the previous release clauses have been stripped away from his new contract. But everything in life comes with a price. He is going down in the history as one of the highest earners ever in PL, one of the highest paid footballers to play the game, and one of the most expensive athletes ever in global sports in general.
The ongoing season hasn’t been too kind to the former Molde striker. Yet, he has smashed sixteen goals (just two behind Salah) from twenty-one starts and is still in the race for what could be his third golden boot in as many years.
His on-field exploits have registered 125 pts so far, making him fourth in the overall category. The way he retains a high goal-scoring rate even in an otherwise dismal season, is a matter of awe and calls for research.
In Fantasy Premier League 2024-25, he is expected to score more than 200 pts as he maintains an xG of 0.77 per 90’. And he may well be a serious contender for the captain’s armband and even the ‘triple captain’ chip (if it still remains there) in the 2033-34 fantasy football season.
What would be his price? Umm… somewhere around £12-13m maybe. Even Salah costs you £13.7m at the age of 33. I guess he will still be a part of the template, with or without his iconic ponytail of golden locks.
Therefore, now onwards, when we say, “Erling Haaland is now a long-term hold in FPL”, by ‘long-term’ we will mean at least ten years!
