While Manchester City’s guilty verdict on 114 of 115 financial charges has set off a wave of speculation about which stars might abandon ship, The Athletic reports that one player isn’t going anywhere, at least not in the way you’d expect: 17-year-old American prodigy Cavan Sullivan is still on track to join City when his pre-arranged deal activates in 2027, even as reports swirl about City’s biggest current star eyeing the exit. It’s one more thread in the broader chaos still unfolding across the Premier League.
Cavan Sullivan Man City Deal: Why It’s Still On
Sullivan, who turned 17 just three days before City’s verdict came down, signed the largest homegrown contract in MLS history with the Philadelphia Union back in 2024, a deal that included a pre-arranged move to Manchester City once he turns 18 in September 2027. He can’t join City before then anyway, since he lacks an EU passport and the UK requires overseas players to be 18 post-Brexit. When reports surfaced suggesting Spanish clubs could swoop in if City’s situation worsens, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano shut that down directly, saying Sullivan’s agency called the idea “not true” and that there’s “no different plan from joining Manchester City.” Sullivan himself has stayed consistent on the subject, saying earlier this year, “It’s certainly exciting to pre-sign for such an amazing club and with great people. I have great relationships over there right now, but we keep in touch even though it’s in the future.”
It’s a notable show of commitment given the backdrop. He’s not just a hyped prospect anymore, either. He’s the youngest player in MLS history, with 9 goals and 9 assists across 29 appearances this year in MLS, the CONCACAF Champions Cup and Leagues Cup, and he made his senior USMNT debut last month at 16, part of the same youth wave that produced Mathis Albert’s record-setting goal against Chile.
Haaland’s Situation Shows the Other Side of the Coin
Contrast that with Erling Haaland, City’s biggest current asset. Multiple reports indicate Haaland has no intention of staying at City if the club is relegated, with his camp reportedly already in contact with Barcelona and Arsenal exploring a move. His contract runs through 2034 and contains no automatic relegation release clause, so City retains legal control either way, but the gap between how an established superstar and an unproven teenager are each handling this crisis is the real story. One wants out the moment things turn bad. The other is holding firm to a deal that’s still a year away regardless of what happens to the club in the meantime.
A Cautionary Precedent Worth Watching
Worth noting: not every City Football Group pre-arranged pathway works out, scandal or not. Peruvian defender Kluiverth Aguilar signed a similar pre-agreement with City years ago, was loaned to sister club Lommel SK in Belgium as a development stop, and never actually played for City at all, eventually signing with Minnesota United’s MLS Next Pro side this past August. It’s a reminder that these deals are promises about the future, not guarantees, verdict or no verdict. Sullivan’s path, for now, still runs through Manchester, but how City’s sanctions ultimately shake out, and whether the club even looks the same by 2027, remains the real open question hanging over all of this.
Cavan Sullivan Man City Future Intact as Haaland Plots Barcelona Exit