Even if let's say he wasn't as crazily expensive as some ar projecting, it's still way out of our range for the time being. Between City being financially elite, having probably best manager around, and the possibility of winning ballon d'Or if City wins CL since De Bruyne's star is fading...
Everything makes sense for Haaland, from the financial package, to being managed by a legend, to having solid chances at individual accolades since City isn't really a very star-oriented team.
He'd be the face of their attack. And if they get CL it will be promoted as Haaland giving them the edge that they've been lacking for so many years under Guardiola. The story is a good sell for a Ballon d'Or.
Yeah. All things aside, considering we were never in any real position to get him now, I'm glad he chose City and not anyone else. Not only will it be attractive to see Haaland play and develop further under Pep, and make City even more attractive to watch (since along with Barca, the only other league I watch every week is the PL (at least the big teams), but I'm also happy for this when looking to the future and what it might mean for us.
Not only Real don't get him now, but we're also the favourites to get him, if he decides to leave for La Liga before he's 30, or even right after his soon to be signed 5 year contract is done (and considering his open likeness for Spain and not exactly being known as a one club man, even more of a journey man, I think he will), City will be more inclined to sell to us than Madrid, considering our good rapport with them and all the past deals we've made, while with Madrid they hardly made any, and they also don't seem to like them that much to begin with. As opposed to Chelsea, who are basically the opposite, always selling to Madrid and rarely to us.
I could see Haaland becoming our next Suarez, us buying him at 27 and him giving us 5 or 6 great years here. Remember, City aren't PSG, they're not gonna hold players against their will. That's like Pep's number one rule. And if Haaland wins at least 2 CL titles and the same amount of Bd'ors in his time with City, I can see him wanting a new challenge in La Liga, especially since he'll just be approaching his best years at that time and also wanting a change of scenery as well, having already spent most of his 20s in a cold and rainy Manchester.
And I imagine Pep won't be there anymore at that point as well (I see him leaving City after two or even just one CL win, since he knows that's the one thing people are judging him on, and he'll want to bring that historic CL to City fans at least once, BUT once he does...let's just say he's never been 'a SAF or a Wenger', not in his playing career and neither when it comes to coaching), so that will make leaving even easier for Haaland, since Pep is a big endorsement point for City no doubt, and we see with PSG what happens when a club doesn't have a world class coach to convince players, where money is literally the only endorsement they have to offer. Of course that still works on some (money grabbing whores) great players, but those truly world class players, who want the biggest achievements in their careers, will always choose a club with history and a real sporting project before money. Or, at the very least, that club will need to have a world class manager that those players can feel real respect for and wanting to play for him and give it their all for him, if not for the club's badge, since this is still just a job for them at the end of the day. They need to feel that emotional or at least respecting bond to someone at the club, if they're not home grown. At least the truly world class players that is, not fake wannabees, pumped into superstars by the media, like Neymar or Pogba, who don't give a shit, even if they don't win the Bd'or their whole career, as long as they get handsomely paid for it.