SOCCER | HAALAND
Dortmund ready big offer to convince Haaland to stay
Borussia Dortmund are prepared to almost double Erling Haaland's salary in a bid to convince the sought-after Norwegian to stay at the club beyond this summer.
Borussia Dortmund are ready to go all out in a bid to retain Erling Haaland. This is according to Christian Falk, head of football at German daily Bild, who reports that Dortmund are preparing a significant financial offer in order to convince Haaland to stay at Dortmund at least until 2023. This new deal would see the Norwegian's salary increase to €15 million ($17.3m), almost double the €8 million he is currently earning.
Dortmund also hope to convince Haaland to sign a sponsorship deal with Puma when his current contract with Nike ends on 1 January 2022. As the shirt sponsor of the German club, Puma is also willing to give its financial backing to the operation.
Haaland asked to leave Dortmund last summer
As things stand, Dortmund are not particularly optimistic about Haaland staying beyond next summer. In fact, the Norwegian had expressed his desire to leave this summer. They hope that this new salary offer might be enough to convince him to stay on for at least one more year.
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Dortmund paid RB Salzburg just €20 million for Haaland in January 2020. However the bargain transfer fee came with conditions, including a verbal pact that would allow the 21-year-old forward to leave freely in June 2022. At the time of the pact, a €75 million price tag was discussed, however Haaland’s performances over the past year and a half have virtually made that valuation obsolete at this point.
His agent, Mino Raiola, had already asked Dortmund about the possibility of allowing Haaland to leave this summer, but the response of the then sporting director, Michael Zorc, was blunt: the player was not for sale.
Dortmund were very close to losing out on a Champions League spot last season, which would have strengthened Raiola's position this summer. But the club finally managed to clinch the coveted fourth spot in the Bundesliga, meaning Haaland was left without a viable reason to have his transfer request approved. And so he will see out this season at Signal Iduna Park.
Real Madrid’s plan to sign Haaland
But the Norwegian star is determined to leave next summer (as per the verbal agreement with Dortmund) in favor of a bigger club, with Real Madrid in pole position to land the sought-after youngster.
Madrid’s plan is to try to sign both Kylian Mbappé and Haaland next summer. The Frenchman will arrive for free (although a transfer bonus will be paid) and with a salary limit set at €739 million this season, Madrid will have no issue taking on the potentially inflated salaries of both young stars (by comparison Barcelona, another Haaland suitor, has a salary limit of just €97 million this season).
Madrid’s relations with Raiola are taut and the club is strongly averse to the commissions that the Italian agent demands when negotiating transfers for his players. But Raiola wants a fluid relationship with Madrid and that could tip the balance.
Haaland’s salary demands would not be an issue for Real Madrid, which would likely be in a position to offer more than the €15 million Dortmund plans to offer him. But BVB are also counting on other factors: Haaland is idolized by the Signal Iduna Park faithful and at Dortmund he has found a perfect ecosystem to boost his growth, having already provided 68 goals and 19 assists in 67 games.