Dortmund's €18m plan to keep Haaland from Madrid, PSG and Man City

Robin Bairner

24 Nov 2021 09:33 GMT
3 min read

Erling Haaland celebrates hat-trick in DFB-Pokal first round — © ProShots

Borussia Dortmund do not feel that Erling Haaland will inevitably leave the club for one of the posse of clubs chasing him next summer and are ready to fight to retain the Norway international.

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Haaland has made himself the most marketable striker in the world. At just 21, he boasts a scoring record to match even the greatest players in the game, while a minimum fee release clause that comes into force next summer means that he will be available for a relative bargain.

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Unsurprisingly, the world’s greatest teams are on the scent, with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City the trio most often linked to the Leeds-born hitman.

Dortmund, though, want to retain Haaland for as long as possible, having seen him net nine times and create eight more in just six Bundesliga appearances in 2021/22.

How can Dortmund keep Haaland?

BVB know that they cannot match the wages on offer from the other clubs who want to sign him. Indeed, it has been reported that Haaland’s agent Mino Raiola will demand his client is paid in the region of €50 million per year, which would make him the best-paid player in the world game.

The Bundesliga outfit, however, are aware that Haaland is settled in Germany and will not necessarily push to leave the club for the sake of money alone.

To that end, Sky Deutschland reports that they are willing to roughly double his wages to €18m per year in a bid to get him to stay for one more season.

Erling Haaland, Borussia Dortmund v Union Berlin, 2021-22 — © ProShots

Haaland, who is under contract with Dortmund until 2024, has seen Jadon Sancho struggle to impose himself at Manchester United after thriving in the Bundesliga and may, therefore, elect to remain in Germany for an additional year.

Dortmund’s motivation to keep Haaland is doubled by the fact that he is a good friend of Jude Bellingham, the young England midfielder who is particularly being courted by Manchester United. They will feel that if they can keep the striker, their odds of retaining the midfielder will be enhanced dramatically.

Given the mature attitude that Haaland has shown towards his career to date, Dortmund’s plan may just be enough.