A version of this article was first published in June 2020 and has been updated.

Erling Haaland has signed a lucrative new 9.5-year contract until 2034, which will keep him at Manchester City for most likely his entire career.

City have yet to reveal the exact amount, but sources told ESPN it is one of the most lucrative contracts in football history. The 24-year-old striker, who scored 111 goals in 126 appearances for the club, is not the first footballer to end up regretting signing a contract that is too long, and he won't be the last.

Here is a recent selection of some of the biggest contracts ever signed in Europe, and their results.

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Sporting clubs like to offer long-term contracts because their transfer policy only allows them to sign players with links to Spain's Basque region.

Both are key players on the current team and look worthy of their 2032 status.

Ranking: Hit

In 2006, Fabregas signed an eight-year contract with Arsenal, and Wenger hoped to build his invincible team around the young Spanish midfielder.

Aged just 19 at the time, Fabregas spent five wonderful years at the Gunners until the magnetism of his DNA brought him back to Barcelona in 2011. The move didn't really work out though.

Ranking: Hit

When it comes to players with the longest active contracts in world football, Chelsea currently have nine of the top 12 listed.

Ukrainian winger Mudrik completed a transfer of 70 million euros (plus 30 million euros in additional fees) from Shakhtar Donetsk in January 2023. It was reported that he had hoped to join Arsenal at one point, but the offer of a lucrative 8.5-year contract by the Blues was understandably enough to sway his judgment.

Unfortunately, the speedy forward has yet to win over the doubters after failing to impress in a series of sporadic first-team cameos. As if things weren't bad enough, Mudric has not featured for Chelsea since early December after being provisionally suspended by the FA over ongoing drug test issues.

Level: Miss

In the summer of 2023, Chelsea made a big move to acquire Manchester City's Palmer and eventually signed a seven-year contract with the young forward. Palmer made a name for himself in a successful first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 25 goals, before the club hastily agreed to extend the 22-year-old's massive contract by a further two years, taking it to nine years.

Fernandez impressed for Argentina at the 2022 World Cup and Chelsea made him the most expensive player in English football history with a €121m transfer fee aimed at keeping him linked to the club until the summer of 2031. To be fair, the midfielder had a slightly underwhelming start at Stamford Bridge given his lofty status as the fifth most expensive player of all time, but has since improved markedly.

The same goes for Jackson, who started scoring more regularly after arriving from Villarreal and signing an eight-year contract before staying on for another two years.

Other players currently in the Chelsea squad with contracts of seven years or more include Pedro Neto, Renato Vega, Moises Caicedo, Filip Jorgensen and Aaron Ancer Mino.

Ranking: Hit

Messi signed nine different contracts during his time at Barcelona (pictured below from 2014), but the longest was a nine-year contract he signed in September 2005, just months away from breaking into the first team time.

Messi's contract runs until 2014, doubling his wages in the process, but we think it's safe to say that with the Argentinian legend's meteoric rise, what Barca are getting is definitely value for money. .

Ranking: Hit

After establishing himself as a regular in Atletico Madrid's tenacious midfield, Saul signed a massive nine-year deal in 2017, with the then 22-year-old linked to the club until 2026. But it wasn't long before he quit playing with manager Diego Simeone and has been loaned out to Chelsea (2021-22) and now Sevilla, where he could sign permanently in the coming months. vilia.

Meanwhile, Saul's midfield partner Koke has also added five years to his existing contract, keeping him until 2024, and signed another one-year option to keep him Stay until 2025. The 33-year-old is still at Atletico, which is effectively better.

Ranking: Hit, almost

Williams is another star to sign a nine-year contract with La Liga. He signed a huge contract with Athletic Bilbao in 2019, and the versatile forward may spend his time at San Mamés. entire career.

Put it this way, any club interested in poaching Williams from Bilbao will now have to pay €135 million to trigger his release clause.

Ranking: Hit

Denilson (Real Betis), 10 years

A forerunner of the mega-deals we often see today, Denilson became the world's most expensive player when Real Betis paid a transfer fee of €30 million for him after the 1998 World Cup.

The then 20-year-old Brazilian winger agreed a massive 10-year contract but ultimately failed to deliver, failing to maintain any consistent form and leaving La Liga for Bordeaux after six years (two of which were loaned to Sao Paulo). Seven goals are named after him.

Level: Miss

As a way of thanking Iniesta for his exemplary service over the years, Barcelona offered Iniesta a "lifetime contract" in October 2017 - a golden deal designed to keep the then 33-year-old midfielder on the pitch. Spend his career at Camp Nou.

Six months later he moved to Japanese club Vissel Kobe and Barca wondered if he had mistakenly believed their contract was merely symbolic.

Level: Miss

Real Madrid wanted Casillas and Raul to spend the rest of their careers at the Santiago Bernabeu so badly that both were given "contracts for the remainder of their sporting careers" in 2008.

Casillas' contract was a massive nine-year deal, while Raul (who was 30 at the time) was given an extra year on top of his existing contract.

However, both contracts contain a rollover clause that will automatically add a year to the contract if the player makes 30 appearances last season.

To be fair, both players had their best years white people, Although both left the club before their respective "sporting careers" were over - Casillas to Porto and Raul to Schalke - rendering the whole gesture meaningless. Maybe now we know why, though now that President Florentino Pérez's comments about the pair have come to light.

Level: Miss