Real Madrid could be in for Haaland sooner than Man City hope

FT Desk

• 23 Oct 2022 14:41 BST
• 4 min read

Karim Benzema may have just won the Ballon d'Or, but Real Madrid are unlikely to wait until 2024 to replace him with Manchester City goal-machine Elring Haaland.

Benzema won the Ballon d'Or last week by the biggest voting margin since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2016, after a season during which he won La Liga and the Champions League, scoring 44 goals in 46 games in all competitions in the process.

The Frenchman remains an elite-level operator, when he plays, but at 34, his availability is steadily decreasing, and he missed Saturday's 3-1 win over Sevilla with a muscular injury.

"Following tests carried out today on Karim Benzema by the Real Madrid Medical Services, he has been diagnosed with muscular fatigue in the quadricep muscle of his left leg," Real confirmed earlier in the day. "His recovery will be monitored."

Benzema could now miss Tuesday's game against RB Leipzig in the Champions League. It will be the fifth game he has missed this season, to go alongside 11 he missed last term.

Real interest in Haaland

Haaland, who is 12 years Benzema's junior, was linked with a move to Real earlier this year before joining Man City in a €60 million deal, and he has dispelled fears about his own injury record to start all 11 of City's Premier League games this season, racing to a league-high 17 goals.

Haaland reportedly has a release clause of €200m that activates in the summer of 2024, but which doesn't apply to Premier League clubs - which could be taken as an invitation for Real to bid at that point, but history shows that los Blancos might not wait that long.

They will need a Benzema replacement sooner than that, Haaland is looking like the deadliest striker in world football, and there is a lesson to be found just across Manchester.

Real weren't desperate for a new defensive midfielder quite yet this summer, with five-time Champions League winner Casemiro still just 30. But Aurelien Tchouameni's talent was exploding, and Real decided they would rather have him now for €100m than wait until he was made officially available by his club. Casemiro was then allowed to join United for €80m.

Benzema and Haaland might be enjoying their football right where they are for now, but Real are unlikely to wait until 2024 to move for Haaland.