Every Real Madrid fan wants to know if the team actually has a chance at signing both Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in the 2022 summer transfer window. Secondary to that, they want to know if two goal-scoring superstars can co-exist in the same lineup for several years without any issues surfacing.
To the first issue, yes, Los Blancos do have a chance. They can meet the asking price, Haaland is legitimately interested, and Manchester City may be the only legitimate competition. Karim Benzema is still going strong at striker, but Haaland is a long-term signing. Though Madridistas should not be too confident in Haaland joining with Mbappe, the rumors linking the Norwegian to Madrid are not – unlike the rumors linking him to Barcelona – unfounded hype.
Now to the second issue, the answer is actually a more emphatic yes. If Real Madrid were to sign Haaland, he would indeed be able to co-exist with Mbappe. And, honestly, Madrid fans should be more concerned with the club’s ability to sign Haaland in the first place than either Mbappe being an impediment to Haaland desiring a move or any issues occurring in the future between the two future best players in the world.
Why am I so confident in proclaiming that two forwards capable of scoring more than 50 goals in a calendar year and with unlimited peak potentials will be able to play together?
Mbappe and Haaland just want to win
There are a few secondary reasons. One of them is that we have seen superstars co-exist at Real Madrid before. Another is that we have seen multiple goal-scorers find the back of the net at high rates in Madrid. Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, and Cristiano Ronaldo were all in the same lineup at one point.
However, they are not the most important reason why Madridistas should not worry about Haaland and Mbappe having a healthy attacking relationship in the same lineup.
As ambitious as these two men are and as much as they love scoring goals, individual success is a secondary obsession. Mbappe and Haaland are driven by an endless pursuit of excellence, and the first thing on their mind is winning. Great athletes want to win above all else, and ambitious athletes know that legacies are written by the victors.
Because of this desire to win and be a part of the biggest sporting project there is, Mbappe and Haaland would, in theory, be more interested in playing on the same team as opposed to wanting to stay away from each other. The idea that great players should be rivals is completely manufactured by the media.
The Ballon d’Or is fake
Another thing people fail to realize is that players as great as even Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did not win most of their individual trophies without having great teams that helped them win more important silverware. And yes, I want to emphasize that point. Trophies like La Liga and the Champions League matter a whole lot more than the Ballon d’Or, which is a fake award with some seriously bizarre ballots. Legacies are given by fans and earned through collective excellence, measured by trophies. And titles, unlike awards, are objective.
Haaland and Mbappe are well-aware of this. Their priority on winning and their actual understanding of what matters would make them help each other as teammates, working cohesively as a tandem. That is a scary sight, and if these two players do indeed value that, why would they not want to play together?
Don’t buy the media narrative that Haaland and Mbappe have egos or are against each other in any way. There is no guarantee they will play together. Haaland may see other benefits to the sporting project at City, for example, including following in his father’s footsteps. But if he does choose a team other than Real Madrid, it won’t be because of Mbappe’s presence. Meanwhile, if he does choose Los Blancos, you had better believe he and Mbappe would be on the same line of the same page.