Borussia Dortmund official has said goodbye to goal machine Erling Haaland, who will follow in his father Alfie Haaland’s footsteps at the Etihad Stadium, when joining Manchester City in the later 2022 summer transfer window
Borussia Dortmund official has said goodbye to goal machine Erling Haaland, who will follow in his father Alfie Haaland’s footsteps at the Etihad Stadium, when joining Manchester City in the later 2022 summer transfer window
Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland scored in his last game for the German club as they beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 in the season finale on Saturday, forcing their opponents into a truncated playoff.
Holland scored his 86th goal in all competitions since 2020 with a penalty to level the score at 1-1, as Dortmund finished runners-up to champion Bayern Munich.
The Norwegian will be involved in a multi-year deal with Manchester City next season that is reportedly worth up to €300m. Hertha took the lead from a penalty in the 18th minute after Ishaq Belfodil was brought down in the box, and the Algerian stepped up to convert a spot kick into himself.
Dortmund took a long time to react, along with several players bidding farewell to longtime sporting director Michael Zork.
But Dortmund eventually got a penalty of their own for a one-handed ball by Marvin Plattenhart, and Haaland, who also scored in his Bundesliga debut, scored to make it all-class in his final appearance for the club.
Yusuf Maukoko’s superb low shot in the 84th took the hosts three points away as Hertha finished 16th after a dramatic stoppage-time winner for VfB Stuttgart over Cologne, which propelled them to 15th and safety.
The club’s sporting director says Lewandowski wants to leave Bayern
Bayern sporting director Hassan Salihamidzik said on Saturday that Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has informed the club’s boss that he does not want to give up and extend his contract with the German champions.
Speaking ahead of the final game of Bayern’s Bundesliga season at VfL Wolfsburg, Salihamidczyk confirmed widespread reports that the Bundesliga’s second-highest all-time scorer could be out until 2023 despite having a contract.
The player has been largely linked to a move to Barcelona.
“I spoke with Leva. In that discussion he informed me that he did not want to accept our offer to extend the contract and that we would like to leave the club,” Salihamidzic told Sky Germany.
“He said he wanted to do something else. But our position hasn’t changed. The fact is he has a contract until June 30, 2023.”
The 33-year-old Pol joined Borussia Dortmund in 2014 and has since won the German league title every year as well as the Champions League in 2020.
The crowd favourite, the forward was on target in Saturday’s season 2-2 at the Bundesliga’s VfL Wolfsburg to reach 35 league goals as he won the league’s top scorer trophy for the fifth consecutive season.
He also scored 13 goals in this season’s Champions League.
Salihamidzic said there had been no talks with other clubs so far. Barcelona coach Xavi, when asked about Lewandowski on Saturday, declined to comment on media reports, but said a player’s age was not an issue.
When asked about the player’s age, “I’m not going to talk about Lewandowski right now.” “But let me remind you, I agreed to sign Danny Alves when I was 38. We only care about the professional mindset.
“The players are taking better care of themselves. Age is not a priority. If they improve us, that’s what matters.”
Lewandowski’s goals helped Bayern win their 10th consecutive league title, but they were quickly eliminated in the German Cup and out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals.