Real Madrid could live to regret not signing Erling Haaland before Man City – but don't be surprised if the Norwegian goal machine ends up at Santiago Bernabeu eventually
Haaland and his entourage spoke about joining Madrid in 2022, and although the timing wasn't right, the striker is always planning his next move
Real Madrid dragged their feet over signing Erling Haaland and Manchester City could make them seriously regret it when they visit Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday in their Champions League semi-final first leg.
As Real have watched the 22-year-old break record after record while scoring 51 goals in 46 games for City, they must have wondered what life would have been like had they gone all out to secure Haaland's signature themselves, especially after meekly surrendering the La Liga title to Barcelona.
And so as the Norwegian prepares to face Real for the first time, GOAL takes a look at why Los Blancos ultimately decided against getting the Norwegian, and why they still might have a chance to get their hands on him down the line…
Getty ImagesA transfer saga born in 2019
Real first showed interest in signing Haaland in 2019 after his astonishing debut campaign in the Champions League, when he scored eight goals in six games for Red Bull Salzburg. But Los Blancos had just spent €60 million on a centre forward in Luka Jovic, as well as splashing out €115m on Eden Hazard and €54m on teenager Rodrygo. They could not realistically justify signing another young forward on a big salary.
Haaland, his family and representatives, meanwhile, had carefully mapped his career out and they felt that Real was too big a step for him at such an early stage, when he needed to be playing every week. After holding talks with Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund, they decided that the Bundesliga side was the ideal next destination for him.
AdvertisementGetty/GOALMeetings with Madrid
As Haaland quickly proved he could be as prolific in Germany as he had been in Austria and continued to score regularly in the Champions League, his then-agent Mino Raiola began gauging interest in him from Europe's biggest clubs. The Italian took a much-publicised trip to Spain, meeting with Barcelona and Real Madrid in the same day.
Raiola also travelled to England to meet with Chelsea and Manchester City. But according to reports at the time, the option Haaland favoured most was Madrid. And a year later, the player joined Raiola and his father, Alfie, in the Spanish capital after deciding it was time to leave Dortmund.
GettyDoubts about Benzema
During the meeting in Madrid in late March 2022, as Real were making their case to sign him, Haaland reportedly came out with a question of his own. According to Spanish newspaper , the Norwegian wanted to know how his potential arrival would impact on Karim Benzema, who was in the form of his life for Madrid and had recently scored a hat-trick to knock Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League.
"And what would happen with Benzema?" Haaland is reported to have asked. Real president Florentino Perez also cited Benzema's continued brilliance as one of the reasons why his club ultimately opted against signing the Norwegian when it was confirmed that he was joining City.
"We have the best number nine in the world and we weren't going to bring Haaland here to have him on the bench," Perez told .
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Getty'City is 10 out of 10'
While Real were enthrall to Benzema, whose Ballon d'Or-winning form fired them to La Liga glory as well as the Champions League last season, City were at the time playing without a centre-forward in most matches. Pep Guardiola had opted against replacing Sergio Aguero when he left in the summer of 2021 after Harry Kane proved too expensive.
Gabriel Jesus was the only natural striker left in the squad and he started little more than half of City's matches, with Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva or Ilkay Gundogan instead playing as a false nine. There could be no doubt that if Haaland moved to Manchester, he would play almost every game, and so it has proved.
The player's father can be seen weighing up the options in a scene in the documentary “You can't really say no to Real Madrid but we have a criterion in mind. Who needs a No.9? Manchester City is a 10 out 10, it is the perfect option, while Real Madrid is a five or six out of 10 because of how Benzema is playing now. Will they also manage to sign [Kylian] Mbappe?” Alfie was seen asking.