Haaland not for sale amid Real Madrid, Barcelona interest
Erling Haaland's agent Mino Raiola said during an interview with SPORT1 that Dortmund are adamant they will not sell, "but that doesn't mean I agree."
Mino Raiola has admitted during an interview with German media outlet SPORT1 that Borussia Dortmund have insisted they will not be selling Erling Haaland this summer despite Raiola and the player’s father, Alf-Inge, holding court with most of Europe’s big-spending clubs including Real Madrid and Barcelona over a transfer for the 20-year-old Norway international.
“I can confirm that I was in Dortmund to talk,” Raiola said. “[Dortmund sporting director] Michael Zorc made it very clear to us that they don’t want to sell Haaland this summer. I respect that opinion, but it doesn’t automatically mean that I am in agreement with it. Dortmund were very clear in their points of view. We are fine with that.”
Raiola: "No war" with Dortmund over Haaland transfer
Haaland has become one of the hottest properties in world football after moving to Dortmund from RB Leipzig in January 2019 and Raiola is no stranger to going against the Bundesliga club’s wishes. In 2016, Dortmund were keen to extend the contract of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was the club’s record signing when he joined, but the will of the player and Raiola’s sleight of hand saw the Armenian playmaker move to Manchester United.
However, Raiola insisted that there was no bad feeling between himself and Dortmund over that deal and he would not be seeking to ruffle anyone’s feathers over Haaland. “There is no war between us and Dortmund, absolutely not,” he said. “The relationship between ourselves and Zorc, [Hans-Joachim] Watzke and [Sebastian] Kehl remains good.”
Haaland could become third most-expensive player of all time
However, Raiola seems intent on forcing the issue this summer and Haaland could well be swayed by some of the astronomical offers being mentioned in the same breath as a potential transfer. Dortmund, meanwhile, have placed a price tag on the striker of at least €150m, which would make Haaland the third most-expensive player of all time.
Until the end of the season any potential bidding war for Haaland will remain on hold as Dortmund attempt to ensure they will be playing Champions League football via league position, one of the basic fundamentals the Bundesliga club require to retain their star player. Dortmund welcome Manchester City in the second leg of the quarter-final tie between the sides on 14 April with the hosts 2-1 down after the opening match at the Etihad last week.