Why Real Madrid have all but confirmed that they're out of the race to sign Haaland
FT Desk
- 1 Apr 2022 19:14 BST
- 7 min read
Real Madrid are the masters of turning what should be a rather bland process of paying for footballers into one of the biggest spectacles in the sport, rivalled only by the act of actually winning major trophies.
As such, the Spanish giants have been linked with some of the biggest players in the world ahead of the summer transfer window.
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Whether it be Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe, Manchester United playmaker Paul Pogba or even Bayern Munich defender Lucas Hernandez, Los Blancos and the media that follow them so feverishly have driven up an unprecedented amount of buzz about who will join the club in a few months time.
However, one star that may now be heading elsewhere when this season comes to an end is none other than Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.
The Norway international was heavily linked with a move to the Spanish capital next season, but the signs from around the club now suggest that such a deal is dead in the water.
Why Madrid won’t be signing Haaland this summer
As is often the case with Madrid, what is going on at the club can often be deduced from the tone of the coverage in the Spanish press. And recently the newspapers in Madrid have gone cold on the idea of Haaland making the move to Los Blancos.
Following a number of reports in England and Germany suggesting that Manchester City are now leading the way to bag Haaland in the summer, Spanish paper Marca put out a story on Friday suggesting that this was simply down to Madrid no longer having as strong an interest in the striker.
According to the Spanish publication, Madrid had gone off Haaland due to his injury troubles at Dortmund this season and the “complex economic demands” of his agent Mino Raiola. Reading between the lines, this was clearly the Spanish club’s carefully planned excuses for not being able to match what Man City had perhaps already offered Haaland.
Either way, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that Haaland will be heading to Madrid when he does eventually leave Madrid.
