Erling Haaland is being courted by Real Madrid in a little more than 18 months in an effort to convince him to leave Manchester City.
Haaland would have been one of the hottest star in world football last summer had City not paid his Borussia Dortmund release clause so quickly.
With the Norwegian scoring 18 goals in just 13 Premier League games, it has undoubtedly proven to be an excellent business for around £52 million.
Thomas Frank of Brentford has now detailed how his team was able to stop him, despite the fact that very few teams have been able to do so.
Real Madrid was one team with interest in the 22-year-old, but they were more focused on signing Kylian Mbappe in the summer.
The Frenchman decided to stay with PSG, and by the time they could have moved for Haaland, it was already too late.
The Spanish powerhouses, however, are reportedly looking to make a move in 2024 and are not giving up on the chance to sign him in the future.
According to AS, they will attempt to convince Haaland to leave the Etihad Stadium, which may be the most difficult part of trying to sign him.
The former Red Bull Salzburg player may have a €180 million release clause, and the 14-time European champions are counting on that to sign him.
Release clauses in his contracts, which were reportedly required by his then-agent Mino Raiola, caused him to leave both Salzburg and Dortmund.
After the superagent passed away earlier this year, Rafaela Pimenta took over the former Molde striker’s representation.
Erling Haaland first €1 billion player
Since then, Pimenta has asserted that her client might become the first €1 billion player in the history of the sport, which is a huge assertion given that there has only ever been one €200 million player.
She has been vague about whether the contract actually contains a release clause, despite Pep Guardiola’s prior denials to the contrary.
The clause, however, reportedly only applies to teams outside the Premier League and kicks in at the conclusion of the 2023–24 season.
If so, Real would only need to focus on convincing the player to leave Manchester as long as they have the money to pay for it.
Considering that Karim Benzema’s contract at the Bernabeu expires in 2024, when he will be 36, Real expects the transfer to take place as his time there is coming to an end.
