5 reasons why Erling Haaland will choose Real Madrid

Erling Braut Haaland is the most sought-after striker in the world of football right now. The Borussia Dortmund star set the world on fire ever since he made his debut for Red Bull Salzburg and is still going strong.

Given how long he has been killing it at the top level, you could be forgiven for thinking that he is in his mid-to-late 20s. However, he is still only 21 and is yet to play for an elite club – but that is most likely to change this summer.

The Norwegian’s release clause of 75 million euros becomes active this summer and he is almost certain to leave the Ruhr outfit, or at least make a deal with some other club and stay on loan for another season in Germany.

Whatever it is, his future will be decided in the next few months and if reports are to be believed, it most likely going to be in Madrid – and here are 5 reasons why he could choose Los Blancos (even though it might turn out to be a big headache for the Merengues somewhere down the line):

#1 Haaland’s reported LaLiga preference

A lot of top clubs in the Premier League are vying for Haaland’s signature. The likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, and, more strongly, Manchester City have been linked with the former Molde starlet over the last few months.

The Etihad outfit, especially, was extremely keen on the blonde hitman due to his father’s past allegiance to them. However, more recent reports have claimed that he prefers a move to Spain over England.

It seems as though there might be some grain of truth in it as City has already captured another talented young striker in Julian Alvarez – signalling towards somewhat of a secured backup plan in case their pursuit of Haaland fails, which looks more than likely due to his preference of LaLiga. If Haaland, however, sees this as competition, he might not be so thrilled about moving to Manchester.

And that might only leave two clubs…

#2 Moving to Barcelona would be a huge risk

With Premier League lower on the preference list for Haaland and with Spain being his first priority, Real Madrid and Barcelona are the two likeliest choices in the Iberian peninsula. Over 10 years ago, Catalonia might have been an easier choice than the Madrid capital, but the tides have changed a lot since.

Right now, Barcelona, simply put, is a huge risk for any top player to sign for. Granted, Joan Laporta and Mateu Alemany are making good strides towards the resurgence of the Catalan giants but the fact that the Blaugranas are targeting players like Adama Traore, Alvaro Morata, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a testament to how far the mighty have fallen (no disrespect intended towards the said players,

except Morata

)

At Madrid, Haaland will not only find a better team but also a more stable institution and the opportunity to play with…

#3 Kylian Mbappe

At this point, the signing of Kylian Mbappe seems to be set in stone. The Frenchman is now free to sign a pre-contract with a club of his liking, with Madrid being the likeliest destination. There is a school of thought – mostly popular among the desperate ones – that Haaland wouldn’t want to play with another big star because it won’t allow him to be the face of the team.

Since when did football become such an individualistic sport that a player would rather join and be the face of an average team instead of signing for a team with a bunch of elite players and thereby increasing his chances of winning team trophies?

It seems as though the Lionel Messi-Ronaldo rivalry has made some forget about the true essence of football.

Both Haaland and Mbappe might be great but they can’t yet hold a candle to the legacies of the likes Ronaldo Nazario, Zinedine Zidane, Raul, and Luis Figo – and all of these aforementioned players once graced the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu at the same time. 

If those legends – out of which two had already won the Ballon d’Or before coming to Madrid while one won it within a few months after joining – could play together, Haaland should have no problems playing with Mbappe and vice versa.

In fact, it should be one of the factors that actually convince him to choose Madrid over the other clubs as, in the Frenchman, he gets a teammate who can help him score more goals and also…

#4 To win the Champions League

This is almost a continuation of the last point. At Madrid, alongside Mbappe and Vinicius and possibly Karim Benzema, Haaland has the best chance of winning the greatest club competition in the world.

Indeed, Real Madrid is synonymous with the Champions League as they have won the trophy four times in the last decade alone.

Haaland could potentially join Barca if he wants to be the ‘face’ of the project but it would be much harder for the Norwegian to win the elite competition of Europe while playing for a Europa League-level club.

#5 It is Real Madrid we are talking about

The best thing would have been to start the article with this point and end it without writing another single word because the two words ‘Real Madrid’ should be enough of a reason for a player to join arguably the greatest club of all time.

If you say no to Madrid, more often than not, you end up losing more than what you gain. Don’t believe me? Just look at the careers of the players who ‘rejected’ Madrid and then compare the trophies they won in the following years with the accolades that Madrid earned in the same timeframe.

There is a reason why almost every young talent in the world dreams of playing at the Bernabeu. This is a club that was – and still is – home to some of the greatest players of all time. This is a club that doesn’t understand failure. This is a club that every other club looks up to.

This is Real frickin’ Madrid. The one true emperor among the kings of Europe. Players will come and go, but Real Madrid will stay. Real Madrid will always be above all else in the football world.