Erling Haaland BOMSBHELL as 'XXL transfer' not ruled out

Tom Weber

Updated: 14 Apr 2025 10:20 CDT
3 min read

Erling Haaland, Man City, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

Erling Haaland will be Real Madrid's priority target this summer if Vinicius Jr leaves for Saudi Arabia, according to a report.

The Brazilian megastar continues to be courted by Saudi Pro League clubs that dream of making him the face of their league. There have been reports that Al-Ahli would be prepared to go as high as 350 million to lure Vinicius Jr to the Middle East.

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FootballTransfers understands that there is a willingness at Real Madrid to at least consider such a world-record proposal as the club are fed up with the player's antics in negotiations over a new deal.

Of course, Real Madrid would be loath to lose a player of his quality, but they are unwilling to match his contract demands. Vinicius Jr wants to receive a significant pay raise and is using the Saudi interest as leverage. However, Real Madrid are getting tired of his 'bluff.'

Vinicius Jr himself would prefer to stay at Real Madrid, but Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg now states that a potential 'XXL transfer' to Saudi Arabia 'isn't entirely off the table,' with club bosses around Europe believing that a deal is possible.

Real Madrid want Haaland

Plettenberg also states that such a move would have huge implications for the Premeir League as Real Madrid would make Man City striker Erling Haaland their top priority in the event of Vinicius Jr's departure.

The German outlet previously revealed that Haaland would like to play professionally in Spain at some point in his career as he is very fond of the country after spending a lot of time in Marbella with his family as a child.

Real Madrid's interest in Haaland is not a new development, but it was - unsurprisingly - thought that a transfer in the near future was impossible due to the Norwegian extending his contract by a whopping nine-and-a-half years in January.

However, it seems that Real Madrid would try to use the funds generated by the sale of Vinicius to lure Haaland to Spain ahead of schedule. Whether such a move is realistic remains to be seen, but it could be a huge summer in Madrid.