Haaland rejects City offer and pins hopes on Real Madrid move

Erling Haaland continues to mull over his future and the next few weeks will be decisive in determining where he will be playing next season. Not so long ago, Diario AS reported that the race to land the Borussia Dortmund striker has been whittled down to two clubs - Real Madrid and Manchester City, as Barcelona have acknowledged, through president Joan Laporta, that they are out of the race as mounting pressure from the Spanish Treasury means that the operation is pretty much beyond their means.

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Sources have told AS that Haaland turned down Man City's first major offer last week - an offer which was received by the player's father and agent, Mino Raiola. It was highly lucartive offer which guaranteed Haaland a weekly income of 600,000 euros - an annual salary of between 27 and 28 million euros after tax. The player's decision to turn down City's offer isn't definitive, but it's an indication that he is waiting to hear what Real Madrid plan to offer him. It's clear that Haaland's final decision won't be based on money - if that was the case, he would have already agreed to join Guardiola's City.

El Chiringuito host Josep Pedrerol recently declared that, whoever ends up signing the Norwegian, the operation will cost a total of 200 million euros. The amount will be shared out as follows: 100 million euros for Dortmund in terms of the transfer fee (there is no fixed clause of 75 million as some commentators claim), 50 million euros gross for Mino Raiola and another 50 million for the player's father. That would leave a total of 200 million, on top of which, there would be the 25 million euros net, corresponding to Haaland's salary - the figure which he, his father and Raiola are demanding. However the is one major problem with that - the amount destined to Alf-Inge Haaland and Raiola in commissions is exactly the same as the transfer fee, and Real Madrid have serious doubts about whether they would want to embark on a deal under such conditions. Another factor which Madrid are hesistant about is the player's injury history over the past couple of seasons.

A possible solution

All of that is understandably affecting Erling Haaland. His aspirations to play for Real Madrid have been spoiled by Manchester City - he recently even bought a house in Marbella so that he can spend the maximum amount of time possible here in Spain, a country he fell in love with for its climate and gastronomy. But it's also true that Haaland is a little anxious about Madrid's concerns over his continual injury problems - especially after their recent experiences with Eden Hazard and Gareth Bale. Haaland wants to sign for Madrid this summer rather than wait until 2023, even though waiting a year would suit Madrid. Waiting another 12 months would allow Benzema, who will turn 35 at the end of the year, to see out his contract and make way for a striker to lead the team's attack for the next decade.

The big question is whether Haaland will be able to withstand the pressure from City, his father and Raiola to accept a move to Manchester - that is, if his wish to play to Madrid is as strong as Mbappé's and he decides to follow his example. The French striker has rejected a massive offer from PSG to renew terms (a signing-on fee of 100 million euros net plus a tax-free salary of 50-53 million), with the idea of joining Madrid on a free this summer and becoming an idol at a newly-refurbished, state-of-the-art Bernabéu. Mbappé has made his decisión. Now Haaland has to decide what he will do next. Real Madrid want him, but not at any price…