Real Madrid and Manchester City are locked in a tough transfer battle for Borussia Dortmund superstar striker Erling Haaland. While Los Blancos essentially have Kylian Mbappe secured this summer, president Florentino Perez will not give up on the dream of signing two Galacticos in the same window. Nor should he. Haaland is a special talent who can help the club win trophies and earn marketing opportunities in 2022 and beyond.
But Manchester City have more financial power than even Madrid. They have recently made an offer to Haaland that has Los Blancos worried. If City were to sign Haaland over Los Merengues, though, Madridistas should not be upset.
Here is why it’s OK if the Citizens end up with Haaland.
Better Manchester City than Barcelona
I don’t think anyone has really bought into this idea that Barcelona can sign Erling Haaland. All of their signings, especially the relatively expensive Ferran Torres one from City, seem to point to the fact that La Blaugrana know they cannot afford the package for Haaland. They have instead went for more budget-friendly options to fortify their overall squad.
You never know, though, with loans and if LaLiga decide to relax things so that Barcelona have someone to compete with Mbappe to reignite a profitable rivalry for a struggling league. Plus, there is the Mino Raiola factor. He is friends with Joan Laporta and may be quietly pushing for Haaland to join Barça as a favor.
There are a lot of “What ifs?” and Barça is a historic club. So some Madridistas are still cautiously eyeing Laporta’s club.
If Haaland joins City, that means he will not be a rival for Real Madrid. Not only would that be good for the present, but also for the future. If Haaland were to join Barça, would he ever play for Real? He could, but not immediately afterward…At least with City, there would even be a chance that he could be sold directly to Real without too much trouble. As we saw with Torres’ sale to Barcelona, City do not usually stand in the way of players who want to live, much like Los Blancos.
Real Madrid can spend that money elsewhere in the squad
Real Madrid have more needs than just a striker. In fact, they technically don’t need a striker, because they have Karim Benzema, who is probably the best in the world at the position. (Robert Lewandowski is very much in the conversation, of course.) And if Real move to a 4-4-2, they will have both Kylian Mbappe and Benzema up top. When it comes to backups, they can choose between Luka Jovic and Borja Mayoral, on loan, or they could go out and sign someone cheaper than Haaland.
Although Haaland is not expensive at 75 million euros due to his release clause, he would cost a ton of money in wages and bonuses. The bonuses will be especially unpredictable, as Mino Raiola may have eyes on City as a preference due to the money they could offer him directly.
Real should do whatever they can to convince Haaland to forego the bonuses and sign with them, but if their appeal is not enough to get the Norwegian forward to join, then they can use that money to fund a squad retooling that will help Mbappe and the forwards greatly.
A new right back would be ideal. Alvaro Odriozola just isn’t good enough, and Dani Carvajal’s injuries have to be of concern. Midfield help would also be nice. Aurelien Tchouameni isn’t cheap, but he could be a world-class addition to the young talents Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga. Even a center back is an option here, as is a left-footed forward to replace Marco Asensio and Gareth Bale.
There are a number of Madridistas who would prefer this broad approach to signing one superstar. While I am of the belief that superstars are the most important thing for this club, the reality is that the people advancing the counterargument have valid points, too. Therefore, it would not be the end of the world if Real were forced into the opposite strategy and instead invested this money into other areas of the squad. After all, Vinicius, Mbappe, and Karim would be a Galactic trio on their own.
Erling Haaland can replace Karim Benzema later
This final reason is a synthesis of the first two. Karim Benzema is in the midst of another ridiculously good season at Real Madrid. He was brilliant last year and should have been higher in the Ballon d’Or rankings, with some of his finest work coming at the beginning of the 2020/21 season when he just could not stop scoring.
Benzema has turned up the heat lately, too, delivering one of the best performances in Champions League history with a rapid-fire hat-trick to lead Los Blancos past PSG after being down 2-0 on aggregate. Very Cristiano Ronaldo-esque.
This season, the 34-year-old Frenchman has 20 goals and 10 assists in LaLiga with an additional 8 goals in the Champions League and 2 goals in the Spanish Supercup. With over 40 goal contributions already in the campaign, Benz is nowhere near slowing down. He still has a few years left in him, though, obviously, he and the club would wisely take things year by year.
Some have suggested that Erling Haaland wait one year before joining Los Merengues because Benzema is in his prime. (Yes, a 34-year-old can be in their prime when they are playing as well as Benzema is.) However, Benz may be at this level for more than one additional year. He could still be a top starter and better than Haaland for two to three more years, as he is a more complete player and more well-rounded than the Norwegian, despite the areas in which Haaland is superior athletically and as a pure goal-scorer (though the scoring part may be debatable).
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Meanwhile, since Manchester City seem so friendly with letting players go if a cycle has ended, there should not be any worries on Madrid’s end that if he were to join this particular club, he would never make his way to Madrid. Haaland could conceivably star for City for a few years then leave for Real near his prime, one year before his contract ends. Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappe, and other great Real Madrid players have taken this path. Haaland could, too. After all, Real missed out on Mbappe to PSG as a signing from Monaco, and now Mbappe will be a Madridista as an even better (and more complete) attacking player.