Why Erling Haaland transfer is absolutely worth 400 million to Real Madrid

Real Madrid are going to be active buyers in the 2022 summer transfer window, making it the first time in three years they will bring in a haul of players in a transfer window. Los Blancos signed Reinier Jesus as a prospect in the 2020 winter window and then Eduardo Camavinga and David Alaba last summer, but 2022 will be the first time they sign a here-and-now superstar forward since Eden Hazard in 2019.

Kylian Mbappe is going to be that superstar. Who else joins him, is entirely up to what the market dictates. Center back Antonio Rudiger is the safest bet after Mbappe, given he is another free agent. Real Madrid are the favorites.

Erling Haaland is not a free agent, but he is another superstar forward who could be signed for an affordable 75 million euros, per his release clause. But where Haaland would truly cost Real Madrid is in bonuses and wages.

The Borussia Dortmund striker could cost Los Blancos 400 million euros/pounds in a five-year deal when adding up his release clause, total wages, and bonuses to himself, his father, and the infamous Mino Raiola.

Erling Haaland is an opportunity Real Madrid cannot pass up on

Haaland has done brilliantly to put himself in this position where he can choose his future AND command a massive salary.

Real Madrid do not have bottomless pockets, and fitting in both Mbappe and Haaland’s wages and bonuses would be difficult. But for Los Blancos, just about any price is worth it for Haaland.

Signing the best players in the world is an obsession for Florentino Perez. And he knows that in this economy, PSG, Manchester City, and Chelsea rule football. They can spend what Real cannot. So for them to have a shot at players like Haaland or Mbappe is rare. As we saw last summer, PSG can reject a 200 million euro offer. They are playing in a different league.

If Haaland were on the transfer market and not available via release clause, he would be off-limits to Real Madrid. They would not be able to afford him. Because in addition to the salary, they would have to pay something like 200 million euros in a transfer fee to compete with bids from City and PSG.

So for Real, 400 million euros over five years is doable. And it is even easier to swallow this financial hit if it comes with titles and the revenue generated from having the most exciting squad assembled. The beautiful football and marketability of having Mbappe, Haaland, and Vinicius Junior in the same team would be incredible. And we are not even mentioning the likes of Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric supplementing their work.

Erling Haaland is an investment, not a gamble

Real Madrid are happy to pay players their worth. We have seen that with contracts like the ones they have given in the past, even those that are now burdensome like Eden Hazard’s. Haaland is an ascending 21-year-old who has scored 53 goals in 53 games. He is once-in-a-lifetime as an athlete at striker, and his accomplishments to this point in his career back that up.

There is little risk in signing Haaland compared to the risks Real have undertaken with players like Hazard or even prospects like Vinicius. The Vini risk has paid off handsomely, the Hazard one not so much. So gambling on youth is less risky. Gambling on a striker who is proven in the Champions League and breaking records in the Bundesliga at Dortmund? That’s not so much a gamble, as opposed to an investment.

And Real loves investing in superstars who have yet to reach their true peak. This club’s best successes were built around such moves, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale as record transfers. And Haaland wouldn’t even be a record transfer, just a hefty yearly investment in salary to compensate his special talents.