'Everyone Knew'-Former Premier League Manager Questions Man City's Erling Haaland Transfer

Former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch could do nothing but laugh as he reflected on Manchester City's financial scandal, questioning how the Cityzens could pull off the signing of striker Erling Haaland for just $66 million (£52 million) in 2022. The investigation against City, which saw the club found guilty of major financial breaches, only covered the years between 2009 and 2018, but Marsch claimed it was an open secret that City's misconduct continued for years beyond that.

"I think Man City should be punished severely," Marsch, the current Canada boss who spent 12 months with Leeds between 2022 and 2023, told The Guardian. "I think they should have to go down, and by the way, everyone knew about it.

That summer [2022], us and Man City were the only teams that said we made money. For us, we did make money, because we sold Raphinha, we sold Kalvin Phillips.

We had a lot left over from what we bought. At the time, we weren't in a position financially to not save.

Our ownership didn't have deep pockets. Whereas when Man City says this, I was literally like, 'Are you kidding me?

Is this some kind of joke?' When they said they got Erling Haaland for £52 million, it's like: 'Yeah, O. K., sure!' So, I knew there were inconsistencies in it, but what can you do?

You just put your arms in the air and go, 'This is football. '" How Did Man City Sign Erling Haaland So Cheap?

City have Haaland a huge presentation when he joined. Haaland was already one of the world's top strikers in 2022 and, at 21 years old, could have easily become one of the most expensive players in history.

During a summer in which Manchester United signed Antony in a package worth $99 million (£85 million), Darwin Núñez joined Liverpool for a similar sum and Alexander Isak swapped Real Sociedad for Newcastle United for $71 million (£60 million), the sight of Haaland going for just $66 million raised plenty of eyebrows. Haaland had a release clause in his contract worth that amount which, according to reports, only became active in the summer of 2022.