Exclusive: Transfer journalist makes big prediction for the future of Erling Haaland at Man City

The opening phase of the 2024/25 campaign has not gone to plan for Man City but one occasion that was celebrated by the Premier League champions was Rodri being crowned as the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner – an award Erling Haaland has now been tipped to win.

The Spaniard pipped Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior to the award in Paris after an exceptional campaign for both club and country.

The midfielder was pivotal in Man City winning another Premier League title while helping Spain win their fourth European Championship in Germany over the summer. The 28-year-old’s importance to the Manchester club can be seen now more than ever as Pep Guardiola’s side have lost four games in a row in the Spanish star’s absence.

Rodri was a deserving winner of the Ballon d’Or this year but two years ago, if people were to pick the first winner of the award from Man City, the logical answer would have been Erling Haaland.

Then Norway international just missed out on the 2023 Ballon d’Or after finishing second to Lionel Messi, while fifth was his position this year.

While speaking about the 2024 version of the award, transfer expert Ben Jacobs admitted that he believes Haaland will win the Ballon d’Or very soon.

Erling Haaland at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Man City star Erling Haaland needs to “stay consistent” to win a Ballon d’Or

Haaland’s numbers have been frightening ever since moving to Man City in 2022 with the striker scoring 105 goals and assisting a further 14 across 114 appearances for the Premier League champions.

The 24-year-old is in a bit of a slump a present but the Norwegian’s numbers are not expected to dry up dramatically throughout the 2024/25 campaign.

Speaking on the latest edition of CaughtOffside’s The Debrief Podcast, transfer journalist Ben Jacobs is confident that Haaland will win a Ballon d’Or should he “stay consistent” over the coming years at the Etihad Stadium.

“Haaland will win a Ballon d’Or in my opinion, eventually,” Jacobs said. “His goal-scoring is only going to continue to wow us but also stay consistent for four, five, six years still to come and therefore his day holding that Ballon d’Or trophy will be there.”