What Erling Haaland's incredible new 10-year contract means for Man City - and the rest of football: Escaping serious FFP punishment, life after Pep Guardiola and a bitter blow for Galactico-chasing Real Madrid

Upon seeing the news of the new contract, rival fans immediately began to joke that Haaland was now destined to spend some years in football's lower leagues as City await the outcome of their hearing with the Premier League over their 115 charges for allegedly breaking financial rules. But in reality this contract demonstrates the complete opposite.

The fact that City and Haaland have committed to such a long deal shows complete confidence that the club are not going to be seriously harmed by the outcome of the hearing. Even though Haaland might have genuine love for City, there is no way he would contemplate spending even one year outside the top flight. He and his representatives would have asked for assurances from chief executive Ferran Soriano and chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak before signing the deal and must have been satisfied with the response.

Guardiola will have sought the same assurances when he signed his two-year contract extension in November. City, therefore, will be certain that they are either going to win their battle with the Premier League or that the worst punishment they will receive is a heavy fine.

Haaland's excellent relationship with Guardiola is one of the reasons why he has extended his stay with the club. Indeed, when he first signed for City in 2022 there was a reported clause in his contract which said he could seek an exit in the event the coach left. After agreeing his new deal, the striker highlighted the Catalan's influence on his development.

"It is so nice to work with him. Not only because he is the best, but he is also the most hard-working person I have ever seen," Haaland said. "People think it is only because this or that, but the amount of hours he puts down is also motivating and inspiring to see. It is funny to work with him, it is hard and it is tough because he demands a lot, but that is what I want. I want people to demand a lot from me and to put pressure on me. So far, so good."

Guardiola, however, cannot be expected to stay at City for quite as long as Haaland. He has already been at the club for nine years and when 2034 comes around he will be 63. But Haaland's mega-deal shows that even when Guardiola leaves City, the striker will remain pivotal to the club's plans.

City announced Haaland's new deal with a video showing the Norwegian writing a letter to Premier League defenders, telling them: "Sorry, I'm here to stay". He may as well have issued another apology to Alan Shearer, whose status as the league's all-time top scorer is now in grave danger.

Shearer used to see Harry Kane as the main contender to break his record and when news broke two years ago that the England captain was close to signing for Bayern Munich, the Newcastle legend offered to fly him to Germany. But the legendary striker turned Match of the Day pundit had not contemplated the fact that Haaland was an even bigger threat to his cherished status as the league's top marksman.

Haaland broke Shearer and Andy Cole's long-running record for the most goals in a single season when he struck 36 times in his very first campaign in the Premier League and he has barely let up since, netting 27 times last season to retain the Golden Boot despite missing two months with a foot injury. He has struck 16 times this season, taking his Premier League tally to 79 goals in less than three seasons.

Shearer signed off with 260 goals in 14 seasons, averaging 18 goals per campaign. Haaland is currently averaging more than 30 goals per season, putting him on course to become the all-time top scorer in 2031. Even if he slows down, the contract until 2034 allows him plenty of time to eventually take Shearer's crown.

Los Blancos were City's main rivals to sign Haaland in 2022, with the Norwegian, his father Alfie and his representatives visiting the Santiago Bernabeu and meeting with top officials to discuss a move. Haaland, however, expressed reservations due to the insatiable form of Karim Benzema and the imminent arrival of Kylian Mbappe, preferring to head to a club where he knew he would be the No. 1 striker.

Real remained an attractive future destination though and Haaland did not exactly dampen the speculation when he said "you never know" in response to a question about whether he would consider leaving City. But Madrid's hopes of ever signing him are surely gone now he has committed to City for the next decade.

Madrid have moved away from paying exorbitant transfer fees ever since their doomed signing of Eden Hazard in 2019 and although they paid top dollar for Jude Bellingham, their modus-operandi has been to convince the players they want to sign to run down their contracts and get them for free. It's how they landed Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba and Mbappe, and how they plan to lure Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alphonso Davies to the Bernabeu. So if they do want to sign Haaland, they will have to wait until 2034. In other words, the Norwegian is one 'Galactico' that Florentino Perez will have to do without.

Guardiola has recently revealed that he was offered the chance to make more signings last summer but instead put his faith in the same players who had won him four consecutive Premier League titles. He has also admitted that it was a big mistake amid City's faltering campaign and the glaring need to overhaul his squad.

That process is already underway with Kyle Walker set to leave by the end of the month, with a number of his fellow treble winners likely to join him out the door in the summer. Meanwhile, the club are about to welcome defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, while still trying to do a deal for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush.

Haaland, still 24, was never in real danger of leaving City but the new contract is confirmation that he will form the fulcrum of the new-look team that Guardiola and his colleagues are building.

City might have already bowed out of this year's title race as they trail Liverpool by 12 points, having played one game more than Arne Slot's pace-setters. But Haaland's new contract sends out a warning to the Merseysiders, as well as title pretenders Arsenal and Chelsea, that City will be plotting for a fresh assault on the Premier League next season and long into the future.

That could be bad news and good news for their rivals. Haaland is a guarantee of goals and his ability to bludgeon bottom-half and mid-table opponents was crucial to City pipping Arsenal to the last two crowns. The Norwegian, however, does not often deliver in the biggest games. He drew blanks in both games with Arsenal last season and was anonymous in City's limp defeat at Anfield.

Many people believe that despite his record-breaking goal tallies, Haaland has made City weaker in the long-run. As he is so focused on doing damage in the box he leaves City a man short for their build-up play and gives them less control in midfield, something Guardiola used to value above anything else.

City clearly believe that Haaland is not to blame for their dismal campaign and the contract suggests they are confident he will fire them to many more trophies once the rest of the team is rejuvenated. But their rivals might actually see Haaland staying as a good thing.