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Erling Haaland says he knows little or nothing about the financial scandal Manchester City are involved and is happy at the club, having signed a contract running until 2034.
City were found to have artificially inflated their financial position by over £900 million from 2009-18.
The club is now appealing those guilty verdict, with a hearing taking place in December and a decision on the appeal expected in early 2027.
If the appeal is unsuccessful than punishment is likely to be severe, with points deductions and fines likely and even expulsion from the Premier League a possibility.
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Manchester City’s players have not said much about the situation and continue to compete, although three league defeats on the spin to Aston Villa, Brighton and Nottingham Forest may suggest the situation is taking its toll.
Haaland, though, says he has not even looked into the scandal much, pointing out that he was not at the club during the period of time that has been under investigation.
The 26-year-old scored in Norway’s 3-1 win over Wales on Saturday in Oslo and after successfully converting from the penalty spot, he successfully dodged the issue while speaking to TV2.
‘The investigation covered 2009 to 2018,’ he said. ‘In 2009, I played for Bryne U9s. In 2010, the U10s. In 2011, the U11s. 2012, the U12s, 2012, the U13s. Shall we continue? We don’t need the whole list…2014, the U14s. 2015, the U15s and the national team.
‘Then the U16s, I think. In 2016, I moved up to Bryne’s first team, second team and youth team. In 2017, I went to Molde. In 2018, I was with Molde. The first team, Molde 2 and a bit with the youth team.
‘So this is a question I struggle to answer because it’s a legal battle…It’s a case between the Premier League and Manchester City that a panel will deal with.
‘Am I supposed to answer that? I’m not really sure.’
The iconic striker then joked that these questions should be put to his compatriots that were at Manchester City during the time period in question.
Haaland dug out some names that only die hard Manchester City fans wil remember, saying: ‘There were quite a few Norwegians at the club during that period, I think.
‘Abdisalam Ibrahim, Martin Samuelsen and Omar Elabdellaoui were there. Kjetil Haug was there too. I think there were a couple more but I can’t remember.
‘But it’s a difficult question to answer when I don’t really know that much about it. I assume the answers will come… I don’t know when. I haven’t read much about it.
‘To be completely honest, I’m focused on trying to perform for Manchester City. A club I signed a five-year deal with in 2022 and a new nine-and-a-half-year deal in late 2024. I think that says everything.’
Haaland stuck to his guns when asked about his thoughts on his future amid the ongoing appeal process.
‘I understand that you want a little headline here, but as I said, I signed a long-term contract in 2024,’ he said. ‘I’d say I made a pretty good choice by joining City in 2022. We can all agree on that.
‘I won’t say it myself, but look at the trophies I’ve won and how I’ve developed on and off the pitch. I’m standing here after winning an international 3-1 and we’re top of our group in Europe.
‘Things aren’t going so well for City in the league, but we’ll try to turn that around against Fulham. But we can’t focus on that now. Now we have to focus on Denmark.’