Revealed: Why Haaland rejected Real Madrid this summer
FT Desk
- 4 Sept 2022 15:30 BST
- 3 min read
Erling Haaland’s father Alf-Inge has revealed the reasons why his son rejected Real Madrid and signed for Manchester City this summer.
The Norwegian star was the most-wanted player on the transfer market heading into the summer.
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Virtually every major club in Europe were interested in him but eventually it turned into a three-horse race in 2022 between Man City, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Erling Haaland at Man City: Goals, assists, results & fixtures in 2022-23
Eventually Haaland agreed to sign a five-year contract with City, with the English champions activating the €60 million fee in his Borussia Dortmund contract.
So why did Haaland join City?
What did Alf-Inge Haaland say?
“We had established a first criterion which was: ‘who needs a No. 9?’ Manchester City had 10/10 at this level, it was the perfect option,” Alf-Inge Haaland said in the ‘Haaland: The Choice’ documentary for ViaPlay.
“Real, we gave him more of a 5 or a 6 out of 10 because there is the way Karim Benzema currently plays. And we wondered if they were also going to sign Mbappe.”
Mbappe had seemed destined to join Real Madrid this summer but completed a dramatic turnaround by penning a three-year extension with PSG.
All 2021-22 season long, it had been unanimously accepted that he would sign for Madrid on a Bosman transfer.
Having rejected a €200 million bid from Real Madrid for Mbappe last summer, the Frenchman was believed to have already agreed a free transfer move to the club he supported as a child.
But, in a shock twist, Mbappe decided to sign a new deal at PSG.
Subsequently, Madrid failed to sign either Mbappe or Haaland.
Haaland has enjoyed a sensational start to his career at Man City, already scoring 10 goals in the Premier League.
This includes two hattricks in a row, while he scored City’s goal in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Saturday.
