Between Real Madrid and Manchester City was the race for Erling Braut Haaland. If the whites took the battle on the green kicking out the skyblue and winning their ticket to Paris, the mancunianos managed to close the Norwegian striker, who also wanted to sign at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Although it is not yet official, all information assumes Haaland’s arrival at Etihad. The Norwegian would have passed the medical examination in secret in Belgium and everything would have been closed for weeks in the absence of City arriving and Execute that gentleman’s agreement that will allow the striker to leave Borussia Dortmund, where he lives his last week as a club player.
The British newspaper Daily Mail breaks down the signing and tries to shed light from the beginning of the operation.n. This, they affirm, has been developed between City, Rafaela Pimenta, right hand of the ill-fated Mino Raiola and Alfie Haaland, father of the player and former Manchester City. Between them they closed the pact, but it was Haaland who made the decision. Before, he valued his arrival at Real Madrid.
This is no secret, as this newspaper reported. Now, Daily Mail reviews the motives and their claims for the future. They point out that the tremendous form of Karim Benzema, who is close to the Ballon d’Or, ‘scared’ Haaland and he preferred the guarantee of being Guardiola’s undisputed 9. Even so, he considered that LaLiga was a better destination than the Premier League and he does not rule out Madrid for the future. “The Bernabéu will be for another day and there is acceptance within the world of football that Real Madrid will be his destiny in the future,” they say in the English press.
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According to the Daily Mail, City consider the signing of Haaland to be a tremendous blow. They point out that the Norwegian arrives much more prepared than any of his previous stars compared to the case of Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgian, who also arrived from Germany (Wolfsburg) after an unsuccessful stint at Chelsea, built his star status at City. Meanwhile, Haaland already arrives with a different aura to the club and with less to prove.
So much so that, after dozens of signings since the arrival of the new property, that of Haaland, which is about to be made official, they compare it at an impact level with the arrival of Robinho from Real Madrid only 24 hours after the entry of the Emirates property. Twice in which Real Madrid was the protagonist of a story of a City transfer. One that, at last, will cover the loss of a legend, Sergio ‘El Kun’ Agüero.
His performance and potential are the main reasons why City have gone for Haaland. The Norwegian fascinated in his Champions League with RB Salzburg and showed in Dortmund that he was not the flower of a day, but the nine of the future. So much so that he will close his stage there with more goals than games played as a starter (88 total games, 78 starts, 85 goals). The one from Leeds will even leave with a title, the German Cup last season.
This week he will experience his farewell as a yellow player. According to Daily Mail, the club has granted him special permission to resolve personal matters during these last days of the season and his last appointment at home. The striker will wear the colors of those from the Rühr basin one last time and will play against Hertha Berlin. When the referee blows the final whistle, the farewell will begin in front of the yellow wall. One that many crash against and now, he will stop protecting him although it seems that he will not hold a grudge against himr. As the Gallaghers sang, Haaland’s new neighbors, they don’t look back in anger (‘Don’t look back in anger‘) since it is something they already knew. Less, when they have already closed Adeyemi, his substitute. Now, Haaland just looks up at the blue sky of his immediate future. In the long term, Real Madrid cannot be ruled out.