Why Real Madrid fans should not get their hopes up for Erling Haaland just yet

Real Madrid were pondering over a massive transfer window next summer with potentially Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe both signing for them. However, that distinct possibility seems to be slowly fading away with Los Blancos seemingly conceding defeat to the Premier League, in pursuit of the Norwegian superstar.

This has been reported by El Chiringuito’s Josep Pedrerol via La Sexta.

From January, Real Madrid will be free to begin direct negotiations with Kylian Mbappe, who they hope to sign for free ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. The Frenchman’s acquisition seems like a transfer they can now take for granted given that he has continuously chosen to stall on contract offers from Paris Saint-Germain and was also vocal about wanting to play for Real Madrid.

However, Haaland, despite the club’s best efforts to save finances in order to land him and accommodate the player beside Mbappe in the roster, could be headed into the direction of the Premier League next summer due to the fierce competition and money involved in a deal.

By the looks of it, Haaland shares a similar dream as Mbappe, which is to play for Real Madrid. While the latter is on course and by far the favourite to complete that dream in 2022, the same cannot be said about Haaland just yet. Moreover, it is quite right from the player’s perspective, too, to not share the same dressing room with a player who is also a top goal-scorer for the next decade or so.

Why the Premier League may interest Haaland more than Real Madrid

If Haaland and Mbappe played together at Real Madrid, there may have been a conflict of interest between them as they’d keep an eye on the individual awards too. While both at the moment would only have a junior status in the dressing room and would presumably get along in order t win trophies, the tensions may become an issue in the future and that is surely something that neither player nor club wants to handle.

In spite of him being an economical option with a release clause of only 75-90 million euros which activates next year, the ancillary costs of bringing in Haaland will nearly be worth that much– especially with a notorious and money-hungry agent in Mino Raiola representing the player. He is a figure who is widely in talks among the football world and may well be one of the reasons why Real Madrid may have lost all hopes of uniting Haaland with Mbappe in Spain’s capital.

Finally, the Premier League at the moment is a much attractive destination than La Liga. It has six top-class teams capable of playing in the Champions League and Europa League, whereas winning just the Premiership in England gives a club’s best player a taller pedestal than most others to the individual prizes like the Ballon d’Or.

Manchester City could well be Haaland’s most likely destination next year. The Citizens are in need of a striker after deciding against signing one this year. City was also Haaland’s father Alfe’s former club and that may lead to the young forward preferring a move to the Etihad Stadium instead of anywhere else. Chelsea and Manchester United, the other interested parties would not be able to afford Haaland after spending lavishly in the recently concluded window.

Do you see Haaland playing for Real Madrid, or bitter rivals Barcelona, in the future?