Several members of Real Madrid’s board believe that Erling Haaland would be a better fit at the club than Kylian Mbappé. The arrival of Mbappé will be the detriment of Vinícius, as the Frenchman prefers to play on the left. Carlo Ancelotti’s team has relied on a striker ever since the departure of Karim Benzema and that is why Haaland gets the nod at the top.
The exact situation between Madrid and Haaland as of today is as follows. The LaLiga club have been told exactly what the variables are in the release clause that the player’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, has included in his contract, which runs with Manchester City until 2027.
The clause allows the Norwegian to leave starts in 2024 and is also valid in the summers of 2025 and 2026. The price tag for 2024 is over €200 million, and this amount drops as the contract time progresses. On the other hand, and despite reports leaked by City themselves, there is no clause linking Haaland’s contract to that of Pep Guardiola, who recently renewed with the reigning Premier League champions until 2025. Haaland can therefore leave as early as 2024.
But Haaland’s arrival depends exclusively on Madrid being able to convince him. The Norwegian’s current contract is difficult to match, not only because of his salary, but also because the player has 100% of his image rights. He has just signed a contract with Nike for 15 years, which will earn him close to €300 million and that is not counting his salary. Madrid’s Champions League success will of course be used in any future negotiations as a way of trying to convince the proven goalscorer.
Real Madrid are considering several scenarios and are more than prepared to step in if Haaland does not manage to win another Champions League or the Ballon d’Or. That is where Madrid could open up more options for him to achieve those sporting goals, especially the individual ones. The other scenario is that he continues to succeed at City, where last season he won the Premier League and Champions League and only Leo Messi was able to snatch the Ballon d’Or from him despite scoring over 50 goals in a remarkable campaign.