Manchester City are leading the race for Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland, but the German side’s CEO has said they would have to sell if City made a bid.
GOAL are reporting that any expected bid for Haaland would lead to a total financial package of £301m, including the £64m (€75m) release clause, the agent fees and the players wages across his contract.
This package would be expected to make the 21-year-old the highest paid player in the Premier League if he were to switch Germany for England this summer.
In addition, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has admitted they would be forced into a sale if City came in with a formal bid.
He told Sport Bild, via GOAL: “We don’t currently know anything specific from the player side, nor has anyone approached us.
“However, we cannot keep up financially if Manchester City comes in (for Haaland).”
A number of other clubs are also said to be interested in the Norwegian, including City’s crosstown rivals Manchester United, European giants Real Madrid, and indomitable Bayern Munich.
Despite the ever increasing risk of losing their star players, Dortmund confident of once again finding and cultivating another gem to succeed Haaland.
Watzke cited the examples of Robert Lewandowski and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as examples of star players who BVB have lost over the last decade and bounced back from by finding another star. This time around it looks likely to be another RB Salzburg striker, but this time going by the name Karim Adeyemi rather than Haaland.
Because of the money spread around him, this child will end up becoming the fifth wheel on the wagon.