Why Haaland picking Barcelong over Real Madrid makes perfect sense
FT Desk
- 8 Mar 2022 10:11 CST
- 3 min read
Barcelona have won the race to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland, according to new reports from Spain.
If a new story in Sport is to be believed, the Catalan giants have greenlit a move for the Norway international that could end up costing Barca a staggering €310 million in total.
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The Spanish publication reported last week that Barca manager Xavi flew to Munich to meet with Haaland and his representatives and now the very same paper is claiming that a deal has been signed, sealed and delivered.
However, while many around European football raise a sceptical eyebrow at the thought of Barca being able to afford such a deal less than 12 months after losing Lionel Messi, there’s plenty of logic behind Haaland opting for a move to the Spanish giants. Especially instead of a move to Real Madrid.
The Xavi factor
Perhaps one of the most overlooked aspects about Barca at the moment is that the club are being led not only by a talented, young manager but also by a former star of the European game.
Xavi will undoubtedly suggest that his team’s results should do the talking for his reputation as a manager, but there’s no doubt that the former Spain and Barca midfielder’s sheer gravitas and star quality will be very appealing for players that join the club.
Like Pep Guardiola, Zinedine Zidane or even Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa, there’s no doubt that current players tend to gravitate to legends that came before them when given the opportunity. And Haaland may be extremely tempted by the prospect of playing under Xavi.
He doesn’t want to be in Mbappe’s shadow
Another reason why Haaland may be opting for Barca over Madrid is simply because the capital side have already made it perfectly clear that Kylian Mbappe is their no.1 priority this summer.
Although Madrid may be able to technically afford both strikers, the manner in which they’ve desperately tried to sign the Paris Saint-Germain striker and praised Mbappe’s skill - both in public and behind closed doors - certainly wouldn’t suggest to Haaland that he’d be making the move to the Santiago Bernabeu on equal footing with his French counterpart.
Wherever Haaland ends up next, he’ll inevitably be compared to Mbappe. But at Barca, the Norway international will at least know he’s the club’s most important player. At Madrid, he would always be considered little more than a supporting act to the main star.
