Why Benzema may be pivotal to Madrid's pursuit of Haaland

Stefan Bienkowski

• 6 Jan 2022 08:51 CST
• 3 min read

While a number of clubs seem intent on signing Erling Haaland when he finally draws a line under his time at Borussia Dortmund, it would seem as though Real Madrid are in pole position.

Sure, Manchester City, their cross-city rivals Manchester United and Chelsea could all easily foot the bill for the in-form striker, but it seems as though Madrid is what the Norway international’s heart longs for.

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Indeed, Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted as much, when he discussed the future of his most prized player.

"All I know is that Real Madrid are very interested in him,” said the Dortmund boss. “I could name 25 others now, but with Real I know for sure. I think he would fit in better in Spain."

However, before Madrid fans start popping the champagne in eager anticipation of Haaland’s arrival in the summer, one notable factor still remains in play and could delay the striker’s arrival at Los Blancos until 2023.

— Stefan Bienkowski (@SBienkowski) January 6, 2022

Why Benzema is key to the signing of Haaland

According to German newspaper Sport-Bild, Dortmund are fully aware of Haaland’s ambition of playing for a bigger club one day, but rather than giving up any hope of keeping the player next season, the Bundesliga giants are in fact growing in confidence.

That, more than anything else, is because Madrid are at the front of the queue for Haaland’s signature but would reportedly prefer to sign the player in the summer of 2023, rather than at the end of this season.

There are apparently two reasons for this. The first is that Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe is expected to join the club in the summer and would most likely demand all of Madrid time, attention and salary demands.

The second, more important reason is that Madrid still have a perfectly good No.9 in the form of Karim Benzema, who is currently sitting on no less than 20 goals and eight assists in 24 games for the club this season.

Rather than attempt to squeeze all three strikers into the same team, Madrid would rather wait until Benzema leaves the club in 2023, when his own contract expires. At which point they could then happily welcome Haaland in as the French striker’s successor.