Borussia Dortmund, amid rumors and information about its star, Erling Haaland, and the lightning trip of agent Mino Raiola and the father of the striker to Barcelona and Madrid To meet with the two greats of Spanish football, he stood on Saturday in a crucial duel for his short-term future and punctured the bone. The 'borusser' team received Eintracht Frankfurt at the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund with the water up to their necks: classified fifth to four points behind Eintracht, he needed to close the gap to prevent fourth place, the last one that gives access to the Champions League, from moving further away. It was convenient to win and it was imperative, at least, not to lose; but neither one nor the other, Dortmund fell and the Champions League became very difficult, obviously affecting the economic and sporting future of the club, Haaland included.
Frankfurt stormed Signal Iduna Park (1-2) thanks to a goal on 87 'by André Silva that separates the two teams by no less than seven points, with only 21 to be disputed (The Bundesliga consists of only 18 teams and, therefore, 34 days). At this point, Dortmund must think more about keeping fifth place (they are tied with Leverkusen at 43 points) than about a comeback with little room for maneuver that makes their intention to retain Haaland even more difficult until June 2022. The 'borusser' team has a silver bullet in the chamber, that of winning the Champions League this year; He is in the quarterfinals, where Guardiola's City expects, and in the semifinals, if he arrives, he would face Bayern or PSG. A path full of thorns in which nothing is safe.
Borussia-Raiola clash
If it is finally confirmed that Dortmund does not enter the 2021-22 Champions League (it would be the first time since the 2015-16 season), the German club knows that Mino Raiola will force Haaland out. Last Wednesday Michael Zorc, still Borussia's sports director, confirmed in a meeting with Raiola and the forward's father that they would not transfer the forward this summer; The Italian agent accepted this position, but the next day he left for Barcelona and Madrid, where he showed himself with an obvious objective: only Haaland will decide his future. Zorc himself came out to remind Raiola that Dortmund's decision was forceful and that he will be the club's next sporting director, Sebastian Kehl, repeated the argument this Saturday: “We have Erling, we are very calm about the situation.”
For Haaland it is essential to play the Champions League. Despite his stupendous numbers in the Bundesliga (34 goals in 37 games so far), it has been his exceptional performance in the European Cup (20 goals in 14 games in his 20s) that has attracted the interest of all the greats of the Old Continent. He does not contemplate not being present in the next edition and the absence of Borussia in it will be the excuse that Raiola and Haaland's father use to force the club to put a price on the player.
Haaland, goal of Real Madrid.
AFP
Borussia's plans go the other way. It is a healthy club, with an economic margin to function at the same level as up to now for two years, even without the income from the Champions League, although trusting in the return of the public to the stadiums next year to alleviate the current situation. It is true that not being in the Champions League would force them to assume a certain level of debt, something that totally displeases the 'borusser' president, Hans-Joachim Watzke; Before that, he prefers to sell and balance accounts, but not at the cost of getting rid of his main figure. The asset that Borussia handles has a name and surname: Jadon Sancho.
Sancho or Haaland
Dortmund's idea for this summer, whether he enters the Champions League or not, is to transfer Sancho if an offer he considers sufficient arrives. The Englishman, once Borussia's leading figure, has stalled this season (despite which he has scored 12 goals and provided 16 assists); Last summer, the Teutonic club rejected a 98 million offer from United for him, something that would not happen again in the next market. If this dynamic is repeated in the coming months, Sancho will leave Dortmund, ensuring the economic viability of the project.
The point is that the great teams in Europe are planning to go to Dortmund to make their offers, but they will not be for Sancho; everyone wants Haaland and he wants to play in the Champions League, something that Borussia is far from guaranteeing at the moment. And the Signal Iduna Park offices are already preparing for a summer of pressure and headlines to allow Haaland to leave the Ruhr area, a future in which Real Madrid will have a lot to say.