The Norwegian goal-machine insists he is happy in Pep Guardiola's serial-winning side, but the allure of the Bernabeu is impossible to resist
Erling Haaland saw the window opening on his future and rather than slam it shut, he gave it a gentle nudge, letting more air in and giving the speculation room to breathe. The Manchester City striker was holding court in a press conference before the Champions League last-16 second leg against Copenhagen last month and was asked, given the constant speculation about his future, whether he had everything he wanted at City.
At first he talked glowingly about being "really happy, especially with the people I'm surrounded by. The manager, the directors, the board, I am really happy, I have to say". This was the perfect moment to end his answer there and then, but Haaland paused for a second and changed direction.
"I say this now, it will probably be a massive headline, tomorrow you never know what the future brings, but I am happy. You can write this but you also have to write everything I said before. I am happy."
This was the Norwegian being polite yet assertive at the same time. He is enjoying himself at City, he wanted to make that very clear. But he was also making it clear that City was not his final destination.
The next question was about whether he was going to sign a new contract with the club, an opportunity to knock the speculation into the sunset. But he opted against taking it and let it linger. "My focus is mainly now on the pitch, there's a lot of games… so I think I should focus on that."
The next game for Haaland to focus on is Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg away to Real Madrid, one of the few clubs he could realistically leave City for. Two years after rejecting a move to Santiago Bernabeu to follow in his father's footsteps to the blue half of Manchester, the landscape has changed at Madrid. So would they still want to sign him?
Getty Pathway blocked
Real Madrid had been following Haaland closely since he first began making a name for himself in the Champions League with Red Bull Salzburg, and while they did not seriously compete with Borussia Dortmund to sign him in January 2020, they made sure that when the next opportunity came to get him, they would be at the front of the queue.
Haaland's then-agent Mino Raiola flew to the Spanish capital to meet Madrid representatives in 2021, while the striker and his father, Alfie, visited the Bernabeu in March 2022 to plot his next move. Haaland reportedly had reservations, though, about joining Real as Karim Benzema was in the form of his life, while it was widely expected that Kylian Mbappe was about to join Los Blancos after running down his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.
Haaland made his mind up a month later and agreed to join City, an option his father had rated as '10/10', in contrast to Madrid, which he rated as as '5 or 6/10' due to the presence of Benzema and the likelihood of Mbappe joining. In the end, Madrid were left stood up by Mbappe, and after having two of the world's best strikers within their grasp, ended up with neither.
AdvertisementGettyPlanning for the future
Two years later and Benzema is seeing out his career in miserable circumstances at Al-Ittihad, but Mbappe looks set to finally join Madrid after again running down his contract with PSG. Madrid have also planned for the future by tying down teenage prodigy Endrick, who last month scored his first goal for Brazil against England at Wembley and then netted against Spain at the Bernabeu.
Haaland is not about to swap Manchester for the Spanish capital immediately, but the prospect of him joining Los Blancos in a not-so-distant future remains very much on the horizon, according to long-time Real Madrid journalist Tomas Roncero of Spanish newspaper .
"Madrid have not closed the door to Haaland, not at all. Quite the opposite. It’s a signing that in 2025 could easily happen," Roncero tells GOAL. "The signing of Mbappe has already been agreed, and if Madrid want to keep growing they could easily go and sign Haaland next year.
"It also depends on the performance of Endrick, another centre-forward. If he has a good season, scores lots of goals and wins over the Bernabeu with Mbappe, with Vinicius with Rodrygo or Brahim Diaz or even Joselu, then maybe they won’t need to sign Haaland. But I don't rule out Madrid signing him in 2025."
Getty ImagesPerez's Galactico mindset
While Endrick may prove to be a work in progress, Mbappe certainly won't be. So would Madrid be big enough for him and Haaland?
Madrid president Florentino Perez based his first term around the Galacticos, cramming as many global stars into the squad as possible, but with ultimately disastrous results. His most successful stint as Madrid president, with Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane at the helm, was the fruit of global stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, but the contribution of selfless players such as Benzema, Casemiro and Luka Modric was just as valuable.
Perez learned that Madrid could not feed just off star power, but he has not lost his lust for making marquee transfers, as he proved last year by beating off competition from City and Liverpool to sign Jude Bellingham and his long pursuit of Mbappe. As Perez never tires of saying, "the best players in the world always have a place at Real Madrid". And Haaland fits the bill.
"I would like to see him one day playing in white," adds Roncero. "He’s a great, one of the best players in the world right now and he’s Norwegian, he’s a Viking, [Real are nicknamed Los Vikingos]. He suits Madrid, he has an incredible media personality, why not? So yes, I’d like to see Haaland end up at Real Madrid."
(C)GettyImages'Fit perfectly at Madrid'
The Madrid team of the near future has enough industry and energy that would allow Mbappe and Haaland to thrive. Ancelotti's next great side will be built on a midfield of Federico Valverde, Bellingham, Eduardo Camavinga and Aurelien Tchouameni, which would allow Mbappe and Haaland to focus on what they do best, with back up from Vinicius Jr.
Although Haaland obliterated all the records in his stonking debut season at City, he has been scoring with his less freedom in his second campaign, albeit with the caveat that he missed two months with a foot injury.
Still, Haaland's lack of an all-round game has been exposed in recent weeks, with Roy Keane hilariously describing him as "almost a League Two striker". And there is a feeling that Madrid's style of play, be it with Ancelotti or a future coach, could suit him better.
"The problem of Haaland in City is Guardiola's model of play, which is very fluid and based on possession, and is not one that plays to Haaland’s strengths. Haaland needs more space," Roncero adds. "Running into an open field, running through on the counter-attack, he’s brutal. When it comes to arriving in the box to meet crosses, he’s the No.1. But City’s football needs more patience, and against tight defences, he suffers.
"At Madrid possession is not everything. They like to have the ball, but Madrid play with quick transitions, with passes from deep and can play with a low block to then play dizzying counter-attacks. In that set up, Haaland would have a big part to play. He’d fit perfectly into Real Madrid."