Erling Haaland’s judgement day gets closer and closer. He will have to make a decision on his future very soon, as it seems like there’s absolutely no way Haaland re-signs with Dortmund. His agent Mino Raiola has also mentioned that a couple of times now. There are a bunch of clubs interested in Erling Haaland, but it seems realistic for only a few of them. Real Madrid is obviously one of those clubs, as are the two Manchester clubs. Or, are they?
According to a report from ESPN, Manchester United have pulled out of negotiations with Erling Haaland, and are going to focus on other clubs to reinforce their attack. According to ESPN, United believe that the star is basically hell-bent on going to Real Madrid and there is no way they can convince him otherwise right now.
Real Madrid are still leading the race to sign Erling Haaland, per source
The report also talks about Manchester City and Real Madrid’s duel for Haaland. It says that even though Manchester City can easily afford the services of the Norwegian, and don’t have a problem with offering him a 30-million-a-year contract, they are still only second in the race for the player. Real Madrid still lead the race, even though they’re inferior to Manchester City from a financial point of view.
Even The Athletic said it the other day that Real lead the race, yet Manchester City want to be a part of it and will compete with the Spanish team until it’s over. There have been multiple reports and indications that Erling Haaland prefers a move to Real Madrid over any other club, and that includes Manchester City.
I think that it is a deal that the higher-ups at Real simply can’t ignore because of the sheer quality that Haaland possesses. There is enough evidence to back up the claim that the club really does need the Norwegian. Bringing him also solves one of the biggest weaknesses at Real Madrid and that is the lack of goalscoring options, as pointed out by Kevin.
There are always going to be conversations about the fit and to be honest, while that holds an important discussion, I think that after Benzema takes a backseat whenever he decides that it’s the right time to start declining, Haaland will easily take over and the front three would be sorted. Kylian Mbappe, if he is to join, would form a great trio with Vinicius Jr and Erling Haaland, and I really, really hope that Florentino Perez has a few surprises in the bag for us in the summer.
As for the actual race for Haaland, I think that after seeing so many reports that talk about the same thing, it is fair to assume that Real Madrid are the favorites to sign Erling Haaland next season.