The predictions for Haaland after his move to Man City were that he would score not long-range, unearthly goals but simple ones that still counted. In their pursuit of the ultimate Champions League title, Manchester City‘s new attacker Erling Haaland may make all the difference, according to midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on Tuesday as the pair prepared to face their old club Borussia Dortmund. Man City has never won Europe’s top club title and was ousted by eventual winners Real Madrid at the semi-final stage last season. City finished as runners-up to Chelsea in the 2020–21 season. Gundogan told reporters prior to Dortmund’s encounter on Wednesday at the Etihad Stadium that Haaland’s promising start to his career in England might translate to success in Europe.
Erling Haaland has a reputation for destroying defences in the Champions League. Still, Borussia Dortmund may be forced to live by the sword they once lived by when they travel to Manchester City FC on Wednesday. During his two and a half years in Germany, Haaland grew into one of the most feared attackers in the world, tallying 86 goals in 89 games for Dortmund. The massive Norwegian striker with a tremendous turn of pace has scored 12 goals for the English champions in just eight games of his City career.
When Haaland outgrew his environment in the Bundesliga, his affordable 60 million euro (£51 million, $63 million) buyout clause allowed him to choose from a variety of teams. Dortmund may serve as the ideal environment for the early development of Europe’s finest talents. Still, in the long run, they are unable to compete financially with the continent’s wealthiest teams or meet the aspirations of the best players in the globe. Haaland joined the list of future stars who temporarily made their mark in western Germany before taking off, including Jadon Sancho, Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembele, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Robert Lewandowski, and Mario Goetze.
Having to pay over the odds following their takeover in 2008 to force their way to the top level of English and European football, Manchester City Football Club cannot escape the reputation for investing heavily, and they do not try. They then spent hundreds of millions of pounds to strengthen Pep Guardiola’s team. This summer, they invested about £120 million in hiring new employees, bringing their five-year total to almost £650 million. While Spurs chairman Daniel Levy also made it clear that he would not sell his star asset, Kane was the obvious replacement because the Blues hierarchy saw him as not only the best No. 9 in the league but also the best No. 10. Although there was sufficient encouragement from other sources that the viewpoint would change, Manchester City Soccer team happily spent the majority of the window pursuing him.
