Haaland or Mbappe? Real Madrid fans make preference clear

Tom Weber

• 27 Mar 2023 13:47 BST
• 3 min read

Almost 40,000 Real Madrid fans have voted for their preferred summer target. The results are surprising, to say the least.

Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are the crème de la crème of forwards in football at the moment. Though different in terms of playing style, both are record-breakers and unstoppable goalscoring machines.

While the fleet-footed Mbappe has been setting alight Ligue 1 for several years, hitting 31 goals in 33 games this term, Haaland has taken his goalscoring exploits to another level at Manchester City with a mind-boggling 42 goals in just 37 matches.

READ: European Golden Shoe 2022/23: Victor Osimhen reduces Erling Haaland lead

Accordingly, both have been touted as potential Galacticos for Real Madrid to target, although in the case of Mbappe, who grew up supporting Los Blancos, the links to the Santiago Bernabeu have already been well-established for several years.

Indeed, the PSG star was the subject of a serious offer from Madrid last year before making a shocking U-turn and signing an extension with the French giants.

Now, Real fans have cast their votes and decided whom they would prefer to succeed the ageing Karim Benzema in leading the line of the Spanish superclub.

A blowout victory

The Spanish newspaper AS has conducted a survey in which Real fans were able to choose their favoured summer target out of Mbappe and Haaland.

Almost 40,000 Madridistas are said to have taken part in the vote, and they have made their preference abundantly clear.

A stunning 82 per cent of them cast their vote in favour of Erling Haaland in what is a complete blowout victory for the Norwegian goalscoring phenom.

READ: Real Madrid prepare €240m 'Operation Haaland'

Despite this exceedingly clear result, the survey will hardly influence Real Madrid's summer business considering that Mbappe seems a more attainable target in the short term simply due to his contract expiring next year unless he triggers an extension which he must do before July 2023.

Haaland, meanwhile, is under contract at Manchester City until 2027, though he is now said to be Real's priority target for 2024 in what has come to be known as Operation Haaland.'