Manchester City chief Ferran Soriano has denied Erling Haaland is joining the club for money.
Haaland flew into the UK on Tuesday as Soriano insisted the Norway star hasn’t joined the Premier League champions for money.
Haaland, whose transfer from Borussia Dortmund was confirmed two weeks ago, had dinner with City executives on Tuesday night and is expected to tour the club’s facilities on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old will earn £385,000-a-week but Soriano believes that is not the reason he chose City over some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
“Haaland has chosen us,” said Soriano, the club’s chief executive. “You have seen the transfer figures, and they are very reasonable. The salary we are paying him is what we can afford and what he is entitled to.
“We have explained the project to him, but the money could have been given to him by Manchester United, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. He has decided where he wants to go and we are happy.
“Our focus is on football, on playing well and winning, rather than on star players. We lacked a centre-forward.
“We had someone spectacular like (Sergio) Aguero. We have spent more than a year looking for a replacement and Haaland is it.’ Soriano argued that United have spent considerably more than City over the last decade, even though it hasn’t brought them nearly as much success.
“If you look at the income of English clubs, the biggest earner is Manchester United,” he added. “They earn £100m more than City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
“We don’t have more money. In fact, we have less. How much money has United spent in recent years and how much has City spent?
“If you analyse it, you will see that United has spent more and that City has won 11 titles in the last few years and United one or two – and no league titles.”
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